Gagan Aggarwal, Chief Financial Officer at Gurugram-based non-bank finance company Clix Capital aims to finish the financial year 2023-24 with a 3X growth in profit to about Rs 80 crore and 40% growth in Assets Under Management (AUM) to over Rs 6,000 crore.
So far in the first six months of this financial, Clix’s profit was at Rs 31 crore, a 200% growth from the same period last year. Its AUM crossed Rs 5,000 crore for the first time in H1FY24, which was a growth of about 40% over last year’s same period. The NBFC’s disbursements also showed a similar trend.
The finance executive is banking on robust credit demand from healthcare, education, and MSME retail sectors, the segments that cumulatively constitute over 75% of the AUM for Clix.
The way we are growing we should easily look at Rs 80 crore PAT for the whole FY24 which is 3X growth from FY23 end when the net profit was about Rs 28 crore. Our three core engine models, MSME, School, and healthcare financing have a 40% CAGR potential over the next few years. This is also reflected in the broader compelling India growth story. So we foresee about 40% growth in both our disbursements and AUM.Clix Capital CFO Gagan Aggarwal
Clix, in fact, has plans to double its AUM to Rs 10,000 crore by FY26, the CFO shared.
Sustainable growth
The CFO stressed the growth will be “sustainable” and that he would not compromise on asset quality. Aggarwal aims to close FY24 with a bad loan ratio below 2% for all the lines.
As of the H1FY24 close, Clix’s Gross Non-performing Asset ratio stood at about 2.2%, as against 3% from the H1FY23 end.
Already in the first six months of this fiscal, we have significantly brought down our GNPAs so from the last year, and the way we are progressing we should have the bad loan ratio on the overall book level below 2%. So, we don’t see asset quality as a concern.Clix Capital CFO Gagan Aggarwal
Funding
Clix Capital’s CFO also does not foresee any challenge to fund 40% growth. Clix raised Rs 2,400 crore in H1FY24 and has plans to raise another Rs 2,100 crore in the remaining six months of this fiscal. The CFO shared that the lender has in October, basis its “strong asset quality and profitability” received about Rs 500 crore securitisation line from a large public sector bank.
We have diversified our lender base in the last couple of years. Pre-Covid we had about 13 lenders, and now in the current situation, we have 40 lenders on the book, and this includes a healthy mix of private banks, PSU banks, private NBFCs, and domestic finance institutions. We are on track with our total Rs 4,500 crore fundraising plan for this fiscal. We don’t foresee any challenge here.Clix CFO Gagan Aggarwal
The CFO also does not foresee a significant movement in the lender’s cost of funds either way, which currently stands at about 10.1%.
Clix’s funding mix constitutes 60% of its funding, while 20% comes from Non-Convertible Debentures or NCDs and 20% from securitization. Clix issued about Rs 150 crore through its first external commercial borrowing route in May, however, the CFO does not foresee another issuance any time soon, he said.
Clix Capital is an NBFC, co-founded by industry veterans Pramod Bhasin and Anil Chawla in 2016. The NBFC primarily operates in education, healthcare, and MSME financing, and is backed by AION Capital Partners Limited, which is a private equity fund that is an affiliate of Apollo Global Management.
