<p>Bengaluru: India's Manappuram Finance Ltd on Monday reported a bigger-than-expected rise in second-quarter profit, aided by strong demand for loans.</p>.<p>The gold financing company's consolidated net profit rose nearly 37 per cent to 5.58 billion rupees ($67.01 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analyst expectations of 4.98 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.</p>.<p>Gold prices hit a record high earlier this year and though it saw some subsequent corrections, prices were up more than 20 per cent year-on-year for the quarter.</p>.<p>Rise in gold prices benefits gold financiers as more customers pledge the yellow metal as collateral for loans, aiding growth.</p>.India sees brisk gold sales on pre-Diwali Dhanteras festival.<p>Manappuram's interest income rose over 27 per cent to 20.44 billion rupees.</p>.<p>The Kerala-based company's revenue from its gold loan business, which accounts for about three-fourths of its topline, rose 18.5 per cent to 15.37 billion rupees, while its micro-finance arm posted a 53 per cent revenue growth.</p>.<p>The company's finance cost, however, rose more than 30 per cent due to a high interest rate environment, pushing up total expenses by 23 per cent.</p>.<p>India's central bank has hiked rates by 250 basis points since May 2022 in a bid to cool surging prices.</p>.<p>Last week, larger rival Muthoot Finance posted a near-15 per cent rise in quarterly profit but missed estimates on higher finance costs.</p>.<p>The profit beat comes after an Indian court, in August, quashed a money laundering case against the company's CEO, V P Nandakumar, that was brought by the country's financial crime-fighting agency in which Nandakumar's personal assets, including shares in Manappuram Finance, were frozen.</p>.<p>Manappuram's shares closed 4.7 per cent higher after the results.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 83.2764 Indian rupees)</em></p>
<p>Bengaluru: India's Manappuram Finance Ltd on Monday reported a bigger-than-expected rise in second-quarter profit, aided by strong demand for loans.</p>.<p>The gold financing company's consolidated net profit rose nearly 37 per cent to 5.58 billion rupees ($67.01 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analyst expectations of 4.98 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.</p>.<p>Gold prices hit a record high earlier this year and though it saw some subsequent corrections, prices were up more than 20 per cent year-on-year for the quarter.</p>.<p>Rise in gold prices benefits gold financiers as more customers pledge the yellow metal as collateral for loans, aiding growth.</p>.India sees brisk gold sales on pre-Diwali Dhanteras festival.<p>Manappuram's interest income rose over 27 per cent to 20.44 billion rupees.</p>.<p>The Kerala-based company's revenue from its gold loan business, which accounts for about three-fourths of its topline, rose 18.5 per cent to 15.37 billion rupees, while its micro-finance arm posted a 53 per cent revenue growth.</p>.<p>The company's finance cost, however, rose more than 30 per cent due to a high interest rate environment, pushing up total expenses by 23 per cent.</p>.<p>India's central bank has hiked rates by 250 basis points since May 2022 in a bid to cool surging prices.</p>.<p>Last week, larger rival Muthoot Finance posted a near-15 per cent rise in quarterly profit but missed estimates on higher finance costs.</p>.<p>The profit beat comes after an Indian court, in August, quashed a money laundering case against the company's CEO, V P Nandakumar, that was brought by the country's financial crime-fighting agency in which Nandakumar's personal assets, including shares in Manappuram Finance, were frozen.</p>.<p>Manappuram's shares closed 4.7 per cent higher after the results.</p>.<p><em>($1 = 83.2764 Indian rupees)</em></p>