Minolta Finance Limited swings to Rs 3.06 crore H1 profit

Minolta Finance Limited reported net profit of Rs 3.06 crore for the six months ended 30 September 2026, reversing a Rs 5.60 crore loss a year earlier, as interest income reached Rs 9.38 crore and impairment on financial instruments became a Rs 3.35 crore reversal.

How did Minolta Finance return to first-half profit?

Minolta Finance returned to profit because total income increased to Rs 9.38 crore in the six months ended 30 September 2026 from Rs 2.03 crore a year earlier, while total expenses declined to Rs 5.68 crore from Rs 8.38 crore. The change produced a pre-tax profit of Rs 3.70 crore, compared with a pre-tax loss of Rs 6.35 crore in the six months ended 30 September 2025.

Interest income was the principal source of the income increase, rising to Rs 9.38 crore from Rs 2.02 crore in the prior-year six-month period. Other income was Rs 0.17 lakh, against Rs 1.01 lakh, and the company reported no net gain on fair-value changes in either six-month period. Interest income therefore accounted for almost all reported income in the latest first half.

Finance costs increased to Rs 8.10 crore from Rs 4.00 crore, despite the reduction in total expenses. Employee benefit expenses rose to Rs 56.81 lakh from Rs 31.89 lakh, while other expenses increased to Rs 35.84 lakh from Rs 18.96 lakh. The lower reported expense total resulted from the movement in impairment on financial instruments.

How much did the impairment reversal affect Minolta Finance's profit?

The impairment reversal made a material contribution to Minolta Finance's first-half outcome. The company reported a Rs 3.35 crore reversal of impairment on financial instruments for the six months ended 30 September 2026, compared with a Rs 3.87 crore impairment expense in the prior-year period, a favourable movement of Rs 7.22 crore between the two periods.

If the Rs 3.35 crore reversal had instead been nil, the reported pre-tax profit of Rs 3.70 crore would have been Rs 34.79 lakh, based solely on removing that line item. This is an analytical calculation rather than an adjusted profit measure reported by Minolta Finance, and it does not account for any associated tax effect or changes in other expenses.

The reversal was concentrated in the quarter ended 30 September 2026, when impairment on financial instruments was negative Rs 3.52 crore. That compares with a Rs 16.77 lakh impairment expense in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 and a Rs 3.71 crore expense in the quarter ended 30 September 2025. The September 2026 quarter generated net profit of Rs 2.59 crore, compared with Rs 46.81 lakh in the preceding June quarter.

Quarterly income moved in the opposite direction from quarterly profit. Total income was Rs 4.47 crore in the September 2026 quarter, below Rs 4.91 crore in the June 2026 quarter, while total expenses fell to Rs 1.07 crore from Rs 4.62 crore. The quarter's pre-tax profit consequently rose to Rs 3.40 crore from Rs 29.83 lakh.

What changed in Minolta Finance's loans, borrowings and equity?

Minolta Finance's loans increased to Rs 200.36 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 185.22 crore at 31 March 2026, while total assets rose to Rs 205.49 crore from Rs 190.25 crore. Cash and cash equivalents were Rs 6.24 lakh at 30 September 2026, down from Rs 9.93 lakh at the March 2026 year end.

Borrowings declined to Rs 136.61 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 177.93 crore at 31 March 2026. Other financial liabilities increased to Rs 9.50 crore from Rs 2.21 crore over the same dates, and total equity rose to Rs 59.14 crore from Rs 9.31 crore.

The change in equity followed a rights issue during the September 2026 quarter. Minolta Finance said it issued 40 crore equity shares with a face value of Rs 1 each at an issue price of Rs 1.20 per share, including a premium of Rs 0.20 per share. The cash-flow statement recorded Rs 48 crore from issue of equity shares and Rs 1.23 crore of share-issue expenses.

Paid-up equity share capital rose to Rs 50 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 10 crore at 31 March 2026. Other equity stood at Rs 9.14 crore, compared with negative Rs 68.91 lakh at 31 March 2026. Minolta Finance also said it restated prior-period basic and diluted earnings per share for the bonus element of the rights issue under Indian Accounting Standard 33.

What did Minolta Finance disclose about cash flow and the cyberattack?

Minolta Finance reported net cash from operating activities of Rs 14.42 crore for the six months ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 5.35 crore a year earlier. The cash-flow statement included a Rs 3.35 crore impairment reversal and Rs 8.10 crore of finance costs in the reconciliation from pre-tax profit to operating cash flow.

Financing activities used Rs 14.44 crore in the latest first half, compared with Rs 5.28 crore in the year-earlier period. The reported movements included a Rs 41.31 crore decrease in borrowings, a Rs 11.79 crore increase in loans and advances, Rs 48 crore of equity-share proceeds and Rs 8.10 crore of finance-cost payments. Net cash and cash equivalents decreased by Rs 3.68 lakh during the period.

Minolta Finance disclosed that it was hit by a ransomware cyberattack on 3 July 2026 and that all financial data, including backups, were compromised and could not be recovered. Management said it was of the view that there was no financial loss from the event. The standalone financial results for the period ended 30 September 2026 were labelled unaudited and were subject to limited review by the statutory auditors.

Conclusion

Minolta Finance's first-half return to profit combined a large increase in interest income with a substantial improvement in the impairment line. Interest income rose by Rs 7.36 crore year on year to Rs 9.38 crore, while impairment shifted from a Rs 3.87 crore charge to a Rs 3.35 crore reversal. Those movements outweighed higher finance, employee and other costs and produced Rs 3.06 crore of net profit.

The next results will show whether income from the Rs 200.36 crore loan book can sustain earnings without a comparable impairment reversal. Readers can also watch for further company disclosure on the unresolved recovery of financial data and backups compromised in the 3 July 2026 ransomware incident, for which management has said it sees no financial loss.