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| Product | Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI) | Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR) | Long Term Rating | Short Term Rating | Regulated By |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 109.70 | 0.00 | ACUITE AAA | Stable | Reaffirmed | - | SEBI |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 103.18 | 0.00 | Not Applicable | Withdrawn | - | SEBI |
| Total Outstanding | 109.70 | 0.00 | - | - | - |
| Total Withdrawn | 103.18 | 0.00 | - | - | - |
| Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available. |
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Rating Rationale |
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Acuité has reaffirmed its long-term rating of 'ACUITE AAA' (read as ACUITE triple A) on the Rs. 109.70 Cr. Non-Convertible Debentures of Poonawalla Fincorp Limited (PFL). The outlook is 'Stable'.
Acuité has withdrawn its long term rating on the Non-Convertible Debentures of Rs. 103.18 Cr. of Poonawalla Fincorp Limited (PFL) without assigning any rating. The rating is being withdrawn on account of payment confirmation received from the trustee and the redemption certificate issued by the company, as per Acuité’s policy on withdrawal of ratings as applicable to the respective facility/instrument. Rationale for the rating The rating continues to factor in the expertise and experience of the board and management team with Mr. Adar Poonawalla as the Chairman and non-executive director. The rating also takes into account the strong promoter group viz. Cyrus Poonawalla group, whose flagship company, Serum Institute of India Private Limited exhibits very strong financial flexibility. PFL’s credit profile further derives strength from its long and established presence of nearly three decades in retail financing and sequential uptick in disbursements coupled with business transformation initiatives such as realigning product mix, revised credit policies, etc. The AUM has increased to Rs. 55017 Cr. as of 9MFY26 from Rs. 35,631 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 (Rs. 25,003 Cr. as on March 31, 2024). These strengths are partially offset by limited seasoning of the new portfolio and relatively moderate scale of operations as compared with the large NBFCs. PFL has reported PAT of Rs 287.02 Cr for 9MFY26 after a loss of Rs.98.34 Cr. for FY2025 as against the PAT of Rs. 2,055.96 Cr. for FY2024. The PAT excluding exceptional item (profit from sale of Housing subsidiary) for FY2024 was Rs. 1,027.36 Cr. The loss for FY2025 is largely attributed to overall credit cost of Rs. 1,553 Cr during FY2025, including the accelerated provisioning of Rs. 666 Cr. incurred for their STPL (Short Term Personal Loan) portfolio. The GNPA for 9MFY26 is marked by 1.51% from 1.84% as on March 31, 2025. NNPA stood at 0.80% as on December 31, 2025 as against 0.85% as on March 31, 2025. While Acuité takes cognizance of various structural and business transformation initiatives undertaken, PFL’s ability to grow its AUM in a sustained manner while maintaining healthy asset quality & profitability will remain a key rating monitorable. |
| About the company |
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Pune based, Poonawalla Fincorp Limited (PFL) is a non-deposit-taking systemically important non-banking finance company, registered with the Reserve Bank of India as an Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC). Incorporated in 1978 as Magma Leasing Limited, the company entered the financing business in 1989. It was renamed MFL in 2008, and PFL in 2021 post acquisition of controlling stake of about 60 percent by Rising Sun Holdings Private Limited (entity owned and controlled by Mr. Adar Poonawalla). As on December 31, 2025, the shareholding of RSHPL stands at 63.95 percent. The company’s equity shares are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE). The company’s financial services offerings include pre-owned car finance, personal loans, loans for professionals, business loans, loans against property, machinery loans, education loans, commercial vehicle loans, shopkeeper loans, gold loans, and Consumer durable loans.
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| Unsupported Rating |
| Not applicable |
| Analytical Approach |
| Acuité has considered the standalone financial and business risk profile of PFL to arrive at the rating. |
| Key Rating Drivers |
| Strength |
| Strong promoter viz. Poonawalla Group
In FY2022, Cyrus Poonawalla Group, through Rising Sun Holdings Private Limited (RSHPL) took controlling ownership of about 60 percent in PFL via capital infusion of Rs. 3,206 Cr. There has been additional equity infusion of Rs 1500 Crore in Sept 25 on preferential basis by the promoter. RSHPL is owned and controlled by Mr. Adar Poonawalla who is also the CEO of Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SII). The Group has diversified business interests in Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Finance, Clean Energy, Hospitality & Realty and Aviation. The Group’s flagship company, SII, is ranked as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and India’s No. 1 biotechnology company by number of doses produced and sold globally. SII has a robust financial profile with minimal debt and strong cash flows. Acuité believes that PFL is of strategic relevance to the Group given the size of the investment made by the group and shared name. Through this acquisition, the Group has diversified its business by gaining strong presence in retail lending. Healthy capitalization PFL’s capitalisation levels have been healthy as depicted by net worth of Rs 9995.76 Cr. in 9MFY26 against Rs. 8,123.98 Cr. as on March 31, 2025, as against Rs. 8,116.40 Cr. as on March 31, 2024. PFL’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 18.17 percent with a gearing of 4.25x as on 9MFY26. Competent management team Post-acquisition of controlling ownership by RSHPL, there have been several changes in the management of PFL. Mr. Adar Poonawalla holds the position of Chairman and Non-executive Director of the ten-member Board that includes six non-executive and independent directors. PFL’s senior management team is led by Mr. Arvind Kapil, Managing Director and CEO, a seasoned finance professional with over 25 years' of diversified experience in the commercial and retail lending domain. The Group has also onboarded seasoned professionals with vast experience in financial services having worked at reputed financial institutions and banks to head critical functions like credit, business, treasury, risk, technology, analytics, operations, and HR. Acuité believes PFL will continue to benefit from the expertise and experience of board and management team. Established presence in retail financing During the last one year, to strengthen its physical presence across the country with a diversified products, PFL has increased its branch network from 102 branches as on Mar-25 to more than 294 branches as on Dec-25, which help in improvising its operation efficiencies and also PFL has strengthen its digital footprint in FY26. On the back of traction in disbursements, the AUM has increased to Rs. 55,017 Cr. as of 9MFY26 from Rs. 35,631 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 (Rs. 25,003 Cr. as on March 31, 2024). The GNPA for 9MFY26 is marked by 1.51% from 1.84% as on March 31, 2025. NNPA stood at 0.80% as on December 31, 2025 as against 0.85% as on March 31, 2025. |
| Weakness |
| Limited seasoning under revised product suit with increasing leverage
PFL looks forward to continue building granular portfolio under its current retail and MSME finance. Post the recent change in the management, the company has launched new products like Prime Personal Loan, Gold Loan, Education Loan, Consumer Durable Loan, Commercial Vehicle Loan and Shopkeeper Loan. The AUM stood at Rs. 55017 Cr. for 9MFY26, and it was Rs. 35,631 Cr. as on March 31, 2025 (Rs. 25,003 Cr. as on March 31, 2024). The GNPA which had increased from 1.16% as on March 31, 2024 to 2.10% as on September 30, 2024 has come down to 1.84% as on March 31, 2025 and for 9MFY26 it is at 1.51% . NNPA stood at 0.59% as on March 31, 2024 and 0.85% as on March 31, 2025 and is at 0.80% as of 9MFY26. To fuel the AUM growth, the total borrowings stood at Rs. 25,881 Cr. for FY2025 which has increased the gearing from 1.86 times as on March 31, 2024 to 3.19 times March 31, 2025 and the borrowings for 9MFY26 is at Rs. 42498 Cr. with gearing at 4.25 times. PFL’s ability to grow its AUM in sustained manner while containing asset quality & profitability will remain key rating monitorable. Moderation in earning profile; albeit improving PFL had reported a loss of Rs. 98.34 Cr. during FY25 as compared to a PAT of Rs. 2,055.96 Cr. during FY24; however, the PAT as of 9MFY26 is at 287.02 Cr. which indicates improvement in the financial performance. For FY25, the loss was attributed to elevated credit costs amounting to Rs. 1,553 Cr. during FY25 of which, a one-time provision of Rs. 666 Cr. on the STPL book was made. Consequently, the ROAA during FY25 stands at -0.34 percent as compared to 9.83 percent during FY24 and for 9MFY26 ROAA is at 0.86%. Acuité believes, given the challenges the company’s ability to manage the additional slippages with product mix while maintaining the profitability will be key rating sensitivity. |
| ESG Factors Relevant for Rating |
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PFL is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Some of the material governance issues for the financial services sector are policies and practices with regard to business ethics, board diversity and independence, compensation structure for board and KMPs, role of the audit committee and shareholders’ rights. On the social aspect, some of the critical issues for the sector are the contributions to financial inclusion and community development, responsible financing including environmentally friendly projects and policies around data privacy. The industry, by nature has a low exposure to environmental risks. PFL maintains adequate transparency in its business ethics practices as can be inferred from the entity’s disclosures regarding its grievance redressal, related party transaction, fair practice code, whistle blower policy, Anti bribery policy and prevention of sexual harassment policy. The board of directors of the company comprise of 10 directors out of which there are two female director. Further, there are six independent directors. The entity has the necessary audit committee, nomination and remuneration committee and corporate social responsibility committee in place. The company is also governed by an information technology framework as recommended by RBI. PFL provides financing to consumers and MSMEs across various tenors, with or without collateral. It continues to work on several community development initiatives through its corporate social responsibility projects.
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Rating Sensitivity
| Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action: |
| Not Applicable |
| Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action: |
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| All Covenants |
| As confirmed by the client, there are no Financial Covenants explicitly mentioned in the Term sheets for the existing ISINs. |
| Liquidity Position |
| Strong |
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The capital infusion by Cyrus Poonawalla Group has augmented financial flexibility and liquidity buffers of PFL. The company reported liquidity of Rs. 6,488 Cr. as on Dec 31, 2025 comprising of cash, cash equivalents and undrawn bank lines. |
| Outlook : Stable |
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| Other Factors affecting Rating |
| None |
| Key Financials - Standalone / Originator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
**Total assets excludes deferred tax assets #Including exceptional items/one-time items |
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| Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable): |
| Not applicable |
| Any other information |
| None |
| Applicable Criteria |
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• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm • Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Non-Banking Financing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-44.htm |
| Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument |
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| Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available. |
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Contacts |
List of instruments and names of regulators of the instruments |
