India’s Bajaj Housing posts rise in quarterly profit on strong loan growth

India’s Bajaj Housing Finance reported a jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, bolstered by strong credit growth.

The country’s biggest home loan financier by market value reported a profit of 5.83 billion rupees ($67.50 million) for the three months ending June 30, up 21% from a year ago.

Demand for homes in India, especially premium residences, has remained strong over the last few quarters, with these forming a dominant part of Bajaj Housing Finance’s assets.

Residential real estate prices are set to rise steadily over the next few years, driven by demand for luxury properties from cash-rich individuals, according to a Reuters poll of housing experts.

Earlier this week, rival PNB Housing Finance reported a 23% rise in first-quarter profit, on robust demand for home loans.

Bajaj Housing’s loan assets and assets under management climbed 24% year-on-year to 1.06 trillion rupees and 1.20 trillion rupees, respectively.

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Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 33% to 8.87 billion rupees.

Asset quality worsened slightly, with gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rising to 0.30% at the end of June, from 0.28% in the same period a year ago.

The company shares ended 0.7% higher ahead of the results. They are down 18.5% since listing in September.