More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

 

--Bajaj Finserv: See higher margins for Bajaj Life, but no bump up 

--CONTEXT: Comments from Bajaj Finserv mgmt in post earnings analyst cal

 

By Kabir Sharma and Shubham Rana

 

MUMBAI – Bajaj Finserv Ltd. sees a positive trajectory for margins for its life insurance arm, Bajaj Life Insurance, but it refrained from raising its margin guidance, even as value of new business and profitability metrics improved during the quarter. "...the margin from earlier, something we weren't very proud of. But I think now you see the trajectory is positive. This one has been more a huge bump up. I don't think this kind of bump up is going to be there in the future, but yes, the trajectory will be positive," the company's management said in a post-earnings analyst call Thursday.

 

Bajaj Life's value of new business margin improved to 19% in the December quarter from 15.1% year ago. New business margin was at 16.4% for the reporting quarter. Both metrics were the highest ever in the last decade, the company said in its investor presentation. However, margins may have peaked and growth may taper down given the high base effect, the management said.  

 

On the impact of tax and regulatory changes, the management said goods and services tax-related headwinds had earlier compressed margins, but mitigation measures are underway. Executives said a large part of the adverse impact has already been absorbed through pricing and cost actions, with the remaining portion treated as a structural reset rather than a temporary drag.

 

The company reiterated that its focus remains on sustainable and profitable growth across distribution channels, with greater emphasis on protection and margin-accretive products, while keeping overall margin guidance unchanged despite the recent improvement.

 

Bajaj Finserv reported a net profit of INR 22.29 billion for the December quarter, largely unchanged from a year ago and a quarter ago. The company's consolidated net interest income for Oct-Dec rose to INR 113.17 billion from INR 93.82 billion a year ago. At 1155 IST, shares of the company were 0.7% lower at INR 2,006 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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.