May see urban and rural demand recovery from second quarter

Sundaram Finance closed financial year 2024-25 with a 6% rise in net profit at ₹1,543 crore and a 17% growth in assets under management (AUM) to ₹51,476 crore. Managing director Rajiv Lochan talks to Narayanan V about the non-banking financial company's disbursement strategy and growth outlook for the current fiscal.

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Sundaram Finance closed financial year 2024-25 with a 6% rise in net profit at ₹1,543 crore and a 17% growth in assets under management (AUM) to ₹51,476 crore. Managing director Rajiv Lochan talks to Narayanan V about the non-banking financial company's disbursement strategy and growth outlook for the current fiscal.

What caused the decline in disbursement growth from 25% in FY24 to 9% in FY25?

Our disbursements grew 9% to ₹8,405 crore in FY25. The single-digit growth reflects both external economic factors and internal evidence. Our teams were measured in their exposure, especially in riskier asset classes. Externally, FY25 was a challenging year—it began with an unusually tough summer and a general election spread over seven phases, which disrupted activity in the first two quarters. This, combined with geographical and weather-related challenges, impacted customer sentiment. Even the festive season in Q3, typically a strong period, fell short of expectations across sectors. Government capital expenditure also slowed.