Five-Star Business Finance (FIVESTAR) Q4 19/20 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY20 AUM rose 84% to ₹3,892.23 crore; disbursements reached ₹2,408.67 crore, while the ₹4,040 crore portfolio goal was narrowly missed as COVID-19 prompted a prudent pullback.

• Borrower count nearly doubled to 143,079; gross Stage 3 assets ended FY20 at 1.37% after lockdown disrupted late-March collections.

Financial highlights

• Operating income was ₹786.71 crore versus ₹408.91 crore YoY; gross income reached ₹787.35 crore, up 92.54%.

• PBT rose 59.90% to ₹349.30 crore; PAT increased 60% to ₹261.95 crore from ₹156.66 crore.

• Total comprehensive income was ₹260.84 crore versus ₹156.28 crore; basic EPS was ₹103.24 and diluted EPS ₹100.70.

• Finance costs rose to ₹216.94 crore from ₹75.92 crore; impairment and write-offs increased to ₹49.34 crore from ₹7.55 crore.

Outlook and guidance

• Directors identified substantial Indian credit demand among self-employed borrowers and planned further semi-urban and rural branch expansion to reach underserved customers.

• COVID-19 impact remained uncertain and subject to ongoing monitoring; management expected the pandemic’s economic effects to become more pronounced in FY21.

• Industry commentary cited ICRA’s FY21 retail-NBFC AUM growth estimate of 6–8%, with subdued growth expected amid pandemic-related headwinds.