Jio Financial Services (JFSL) on Monday reported a 56 per cent drop in consolidated profits for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.
The core investment company (CIC) posted a net profit of Rs 293.82 crore against Rs 668.18 crore in the July-September period.
JFSL reported its first earnings report for the July-September period after being carved out from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in October.
During the October-December quarter, JFSL saw its consolidated interest income standing at Rs 270 crore against Rs 186 crore in the preceding three months, while there was no dividend income.
Fees and commission income were stable at Rs 41 crore against Rs 42 crore in the previous quarter. Its total income stood at Rs 414 crore down from Rs 608 crore on a sequential basis.
In a presentation, JFSL said it will launch leasing business and supply chain financing apart from increasing focus on secured lending. It will also venture into loans against shares and home loans.
On secured lending, the financial services firm said there is a large opportunity.
The market reaction about unsecured lending is leading to a calibrated approach towards unsecured products, it said.
Last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had tightened norms on the exposure of
banks and NBFCs to unsecured lending such as personal loans and credit cards.
JFSL said it will go for an accelerated focus on secured lending including leasing as a product.
JFSL disclosed that within insurance broking, it has partnerships with 27 insurance firms across general and life, adding it has launched sachet insurance products.
Its payment bank business has been reconfigured to launch a digital savings bank account.
A recent update from Sebi showed the joint venture between JFSL and BlackRock which applied for a mutual fund licence with the market regulator is currently under consideration.
JFSL and BlackRock had announced an agreement in July 2023 to form a 50:50 joint venture with a $150 million investment each to enter the asset management business in India.
The shares closed at Rs 266.80 per unit, up 4.55 per cent on the BSE.
