India's SBI Funds Management (SBIA.NS) reported a 3.7% rise in first-quarter profit on Monday, helped by robust domestic capital inflows, in its first earnings report since going public in July.
The company posted a consolidated net profit of 8.8 billion rupees ($92.30 million) for the quarter ended June 30, up from 8.49 billion rupees a year earlier.
Domestic inflows into equity mutual funds remained strong as steady retail participation supported both the market and asset management companies, even as foreign investors continued to sell Indian equities.
More attractive valuations after the January-March market decline and expectations of an earnings recovery in the second half of the year have helped drive inflows, according to analysts.
SBI Funds Management is a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI.NS), the country's largest lender, and Amundi (AMUN.PA), Europe's biggest asset manager. It attracted $31 billion worth of bids for its $1.3 billion IPO, making it India's fourth-most-subscribed issue. The company's shares have dropped 4% since its listing.
Its consolidated revenue from operations rose around 15% year-on-year to 11.53 billion rupees.
However, other income, which includes gains on the company's financial investments and investment income, declined nearly 28%.
"..robust performance during the quarter, supported by healthy flows across equity and passive strategies, continued SIP momentum, expanding retail participation..," the company said in a statement.
SBI Funds' quarterly average assets under management (QAAUM) for mutual funds grew 11% year-on-year, and actively managed equity QAAUM rose 10%.
Last month, peers ICICI Prudential AMC (IICL.NS) and HDFC AMC (HDFA.NS) reported a 23% and 12% rise in first-quarter profit, respectively, helped by strong equity inflows.
($1 = 95.3375 Indian rupees)
