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The sheen is back

Manappuram Finance promoter VP Nandakumar is just bought 1 lakh shares from the open market

It seems like VP Nandakumar is sensing better times in store for the gold loan business. The promoter of Manappuram Finance, the second-largest gold non-banking finance company (NBFC) in the country, bought 1 lakh shares from the open market. The current promoter holding in the company is around 32%, with just 1.13% locked in pledged shares. During FY12-FY14, the company faced severe asset quality issues, apparent from high auctions of ₹1,500 crore in FY14, even as assets declined 29%. After almost 18 months of turmoil, relatively steady gold prices and a stable regulatory environment are helping the domestic gold loan industry show signs of recovery. Over the past two quarters, Manappuram’s assets have grown 5% q-o-q and auctions moderated to normal business levels of 1-2% of assets. With a network of 3,200 branches and over 17,000 employees, analysts expect the company’s assets to grow at 10% CAGR to ₹11,200 crore by FY17. Looks like Manappuram is slowly finding its Midas touch.