The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Auto Finance to raise Rs 950 crore

THE shareholders of Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd have authorised the board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting to issue equity shares/warrants worth Rs 322 crore on a preferential basis to promoters and other investors. .

They have also authorised the board to raise Rs 950 crore (including premium) through a rights issue of securities, an increase in the authorised share capital from Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore and consequent changes in the Memorandum of Association.

The rights issue will comprise 1,25,96,076 equity shares of Rs 10 each in the ratio of 6:10. The company will also issue 5,24,83,65 non-convertible debentures in the ratio of 1:4 (one non-convertible debenture for every four shares held) with warrants optionally convertible into equity shares at a price determined by the board of directors.According to an official statement, disbursements for the quarter ended December 2005 were Rs 580.72 crore as against Rs 394.95 crore in the year-ago period. For the nine-month period, the disbursements were Rs 1,413.18 crore ( Rs 1,026.08 crore)

The total income was Rs 71.37 crore (Rs 47.31 crore) for Q3 and Rs 170.31 crore (Rs 116.82 crore) for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2005. Profit before tax for the quarter was Rs 15.30 crore (Rs 16.60 crore) and Rs 38.86 crore (Rs 43.78 crore) for the nine-month period.

The company has changed its provisioning policy for non-performing assets with effect from March 31, 2005, resulting in an additional provisioning of Rs 4.09 crore for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2005.

Profit for the quarter and the nine-month period has dipped marginally due to the increase in operating expenses such as staff cost and marketing expenses.

Bajaj Auto Finance is scaling its capacities and investment in human resources and processes to pursue an aggressive growth strategy over the next five years.