­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. 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 networth of 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 comfortable at 22.94 percent with a gearing of 3.19x as on March 31, 2025.

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 Nonexecutive Director of the ten-member Board that includes six non-executive independent directors. PFL’s senior management team is led by Mr. Arvind Kapil, Managing Director, who served as HDFC Bank’s Group Head overseeing the mortgage banking business with a book size of 7.5 lakh crore and also spearheaded the retail lending franchise at the HDFC bank. Mr. Sunil Samdani (previously CFO of Bandhan Bank) having rich experience in BFSI sector over two decades, had joined as Executive Director. PFL has inducted experienced professionals across functions, in line with the growth areas identified at group level. Mr. Sanjay Miranka (previously with Aditya Birla Finance) had joined as the CFO. 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
PFL commenced its operations in 1989 and over time built long and established presence in retail financing across 19 states in India through a branch network of 102 branches as on March 31, 2024. The branch network has seen contraction since FY22 from 242 branches to 102 branches as on Mar-24, as a measure to improve operational efficiencies. The total branches stood at 102 as on Mar-25. The company plans to launch 400 branches and also strengthen its digital footprint in FY26. On the back of traction in disbursements, the AUM has increased to 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. NNPA stood at 0.59% as on March 31, 2024 and 0.85% as on March 31, 2025.

­Limited seasoning under revised product suit; relatively moderate scale of operations
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 Shopkeeper loans, Used Commercial vehicle loans, Consumer durable loans, Gold loans, Education loans and started growing its Prime PL book. The AUM stood at 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. NNPA stood at 0.59% as on March 31, 2024 and 0.85% as on March 31, 2025. 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. 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 has reported a loss of Rs. 98.34 Crs during FY25 as compared to a PAT of Rs. 2,055.96 Cr. during FY24. The loss is 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. The financial performance has seen improvement in Q3FY25 and Q4FY25 with PAT of Rs 18.73 Cr. and 62.33 Cr. respectively.
Acuité believes, given the challenges the company’s ability to manage the additional slippages while maintaining the profitability will be key rating sensitivity.