Manappuram Finance reported a sharp rise in quarterly profit, as strong demand for gold loans and a recovery at its microfinance arm lifted earnings well above last year's level.

Consolidated net profit for the second quarter of the 2026-27 financial year, the three months ended 30 September 2026, rose 222.9 per cent from a year earlier to 701 crore rupees, up from 217 crore rupees in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 47.8 per cent to 3,361.55 crore rupees.

Profit for the first half of the financial year reached 1,286 crore rupees, up 268 per cent from a year earlier, according to the company's results and investor presentation.

Gold loans drive the growth

The gold-loan business remained the main engine of growth. Consolidated gold-loan assets under management reached 60,640 crore rupees, up 92.5 per cent from 31,505 crore rupees a year earlier. Total consolidated assets under management rose 60.1 per cent to 73,303 crore rupees.

The company held about 70 tonnes of gold on a consolidated basis, up 22 per cent from a year earlier. Standalone gold-loan customers reached 27.3 lakh, compared with 25.2 lakh a year earlier, and the gold-loan business operated 4,113 branches, up from 4,044.

Gold loans now account for about 83 per cent of consolidated assets under management, up from 69 per cent a year earlier, reflecting how far the business has tilted towards its core product.

Microfinance arm swings back to profit

Part of the jump in profit came from Asirvad Microfinance, the group's microfinance subsidiary. It moved from a segment loss of 214.82 crore rupees before tax in the same quarter last year to a profit of 43 crore rupees this quarter.

On a standalone basis, which excludes Asirvad, net profit rose a more modest 76.8 per cent to 664.75 crore rupees, showing how much of the consolidated surge came from the microfinance turnaround.

The board also declared a second interim dividend of one rupee per share.

Expansion plans continue

Management reaffirmed its guidance for gold-loan growth of 25 to 30 per cent in the 2026-27 financial year, and said it plans to add 500 new branches by March 2027, after the Reserve Bank of India eased rules requiring prior approval for branch openings.

Online gold loans now account for 91 per cent of the gold-loan book, the company said on its earnings call, allowing it to grow without adding staff at the same pace. The average loan-to-value ratio stood at 64.5 per cent, which the chairman, V. P. Nandakumar, described as among the lowest in the industry.

Shares in Manappuram Finance were little changed at 319.95 rupees in the previous session. The results were reported on 12 November and featured among the stocks to watch in Indian trading on Friday, 13 November.