Shares of Muthoot Finance surged on Thursday, rising over 9 per cent after the company reported strong first-quarter results, along with a ratings upgrade from global brokerage Morgan Stanley.
The shares of the company closed the day up by 9.87 per cent at ₹2,757, after jumping more than 10 per cent during early trading hours. The shares touched as high as ₹2,800. The market capitalisation of the company also rose to ₹1.10 lakh crore, the highest of any Kerala-listed companies.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Muthoot Finance to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equalweight’, citing strong earnings forecast in the upcoming financial year and also with a favourable outlook for gold loans. The analyst also raised its price target on the stock to ₹2,920, up from the earlier target of ₹2,880.
Other brokerages, including Jefferies, also increased their price targets on Muthoot Finance following the robust Q1 earnings report, reflecting growing investor confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
Muthoot Finance reported a consolidated net profit of ₹1,974 crore for the first quarter, up from ₹1,196 crore in the same period last year. On a standalone basis, profit stood at ₹2,046 crore, compared to ₹1,079 crore in Q1 of the previous financial year.
The company’s consolidated total income rose to ₹6,485 crore, up from ₹4,492 crore in the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter stood at ₹50.22, higher than ₹28.99 in Q1 FY24.
Earlier this year, the company declared an interim dividend of ₹26 per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2025.
Muthoot Finance, whose core business revolves around gold loans, said that the total gold loans disbursed by the company stood at ₹1.13 lakh crore, marking a 40 per cent year-on-year increase compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
The company also reported a 42 per cent growth in its total standalone loans, which now stands at ₹1.20 lakh crore.
