Recent listing Five Star Business Finance Ltd., reported a net profit growth of only 3 percent for the September quarter, due to higher operating expenses and provisions.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 144 crore compared to Rs 139 crore in the June quarter. Operating expenses increased 12.5 percent sequentially to Rs 100 crore, while loan losses and provisions stood at Rs 8.5 crore. During the June quarter, it had released Rs 4 crore from provisions.

The NBFC, that specialises in small business loans, said that its loan book grew 8 percent at the end of the September quarter compared to June.

The company’s assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 5,732.4 crore, rising 8 percent from Rs 5,296.5 crore as of June 30, 2022.

Net Interest Income, or core income increased 10 percent to Rs 301 crore from Rs 274 crore during the June quarter.

The company said it managed to add 41 branches during the quarter that contributed to growth. Total branch count stood at 352 as against 268 branches as of 30 September 2021. Collection efficiency stood at 100.1 percent.

Shares of Five Star Business Finance are trading little changed on Tuesday at Rs 500.

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