Shares of Bajaj Finance rose 5% to Rs 6,020 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the consumer financier reported its highest-ever consolidated quarterly profit at Rs 2,973 crore for the October-December quarter (Q3) of FY23, up 40% year on year (YoY). The performance was helped by healthy growth in net interest income (NII) and a decline in provisions and contingencies.

Bajaj Finance was quoted 4.5% higher at Rs 6,016 at 10:20 am, while the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.01%. However, the stock has underperformed recently. The stock has fallen 14% over the past three months, with a decline of less than 1% for the benchmark index. Moreover, it has lost 17% over the past six months, while Sensex has gained 3%.

In Q3FY23, Bajaj Finance’s NII rose 24% YoY to Rs 7,435 crore as it registered about 7.84 lakh loans, the highest ever in a single quarter, up 5% YoY. Additionally, the company reported adding a record 3.14 million new customers during the quarter, bringing its customer base to 66.05 million by December 2022.

Given the strength in the first three quarters, the company estimates new customer additions of 11 million in FY23.

Bajaj Finance’s asset quality improved, with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) at 1.14% at the end of Q3FY23, compared to 1.17% in the preceding quarter. Likewise, Net NPA decreased to 0.41% compared to 0.44% in the previous quarter.