More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026

 

By Kabir Sharma

 

MUMBAI – L&T Finance Ltd. is expected to report a steady set of earnings for the quarter ended March, supported by strong retail loan growth, stable margins, and moderate credit costs, though analysts remain watchful of trends in the microfinance portfolio.

 

Street estimates suggest net interest income will remain robust, with consensus pegging it at INR 25.97 billion for the fourth quarter, according to the average of estimates from nine brokerages, reflecting healthy growth on the back of sustained expansion in the retail loan book. Supported by a healthy growth in interest income, net profit is estimated at INR 7.90 billion for the reporting quarter, up 24% on year. The leder will detail its earnings on Friday. 

 

The highest estimate for the lender's net profit is INR 8.23 billion by Nomura Equity Research, and the lowest is INR 7.40 billion by Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. The highest estimate for net interest income is INR 27.46 billion by Nomura and the lowest is INR 24.10 billion by Nuvama

 

The non-banking finance company had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 7.39 billion for the December quarter, up 17.9% on year, which was the highest on-year rise since Apr-Jun 2024. 

 

Retail loan growth continues to be the key driver for the non-bank financier, brokerages said. Kotak Securities noted that the company "delivered 26% retail AUM growth in 4QFY26E (Jan-Mar)," a trend echoed across estimates, with Nomura also pointing to "26% y-y (year-on-year) growth of retail loan book" based on pre-earnings disclosures.

 

Margins are expected to remain largely stable, though with some divergence in views. Kotak Securities expects "NIM+fees to remain stable qoq (on quarter) at 10.5%, as the benefit of realizations tapers off," indicating limited upside from yield expansion seen in prior quarters. Similarly, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. expects net interest margin to "decline 10bp (basis points) QoQ (on quarter) to 10.3%,".

 

In contrast, Nuvama Wealth Management sees a marginal improvement, estimating NIMs to "grow 3bps QoQ," highlighting differing assumptions on funding costs and asset mix. For the December quarter, net interest margins plus fees improved to 10.41%, from 10.22% in the preceding quarter, supported by better yields and improved liability management.

 

Asset quality trends are likely to remain stable, with a marginal improvement in credit costs. Estimates largely cluster in the 2.6–2.7% range. Kotak Securities said it "pen(s) down credit costs of 2.7% in 4QFY26E (2.2–2.9% over the last four quarters)," while Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. expects credit costs to decline 10 basis points to 2.6%. Nomura, however, anticipates only "slight moderation of credit cost at 2 bps," suggesting limited near-term relief.

 

Operating efficiency is expected to remain under control. Kotak Securities estimates the cost-to-average assets under management ratio at around 4.3%, slightly higher than the 4.0–4.2% range seen in recent quarters.

 

However, the outlook on the microfinance segment remains a key metric to watch out for. Brokerages flagged that "outlook on the MFI business and credit costs is the key monitorable," especially in the context of evolving borrower stress and regulatory dynamics. Analysts will closely track management commentary on margin sustainability, funding costs, and asset quality trends, particularly within the unsecured and microfinance segments, they said. 

 

On Wednesday, shares of the non bank lender ended at INR 294 on the National Stock Exchange, up 0.7% over Tuesday. The share price was largely unchanged from INR 296.40 when the lender last declared its earnings in January.

 

Of 11 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, 10 have a 'buy' rating on the stock with an average target price of INR 334 per share, over 13.4% higher than the current market price. One brokerage has a 'hold' recommendation with an average target price of INR 325 per share.

 

Following are the March quarter earnings estimates for L&T Finance from 9 brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR billion:

 

BROKERAGE NAME	NET INTEREST INCOME	NET PROFIT
Nomura Equity Research	27.46	8.23
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd	25.76	8.01
Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd	26.44	7.95
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd	26.66	7.94
Kotak Securities Ltd	25.59	7.94
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd	26.67	7.94
Equirus Securities Pvt Ltd	25.79	7.91
ICICI Securities Ltd	25.30	7.81
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd	24.10	7.40
Average	25.97	7.90

 

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.