In an interview with Meena Konar of Myiris.com, Deo Shankar Tripathi, president & COO, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) says, "In the forthcoming years, the company aims to expand its presence into the deeper pockets of the country, to enable effective customer access."

1. DHFL net profit rose by 18% during the quarter and reported 27% rise in revenue growth. Could you brief us about this? How do you see your performance for the coming quarter?

DHFL's performance in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year has been encouraging. The company has registered positive growth in approvals, sanctions and various other financial parameters. In the second quarter of the current fiscal, our net profit increased by 18% to Rs 1.52 billion and Total income moved up by 27% to Rs 14.50 billion. The Profit before tax rose by 32% to Rs 2.27 billion. Loan disbursements and sanctions were Rs 42.57 billion and Rs 61.25 billion respectively during this period, registering a growth of 30.65% and 38.75%.

Generally, the second half of the financial year records comparatively higher growth than that of the first. Considering DHFL's robust growth in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year ending September 30, 2014, I believe that we are well poised for robust growth in the coming quarters.

2. Are you looking to further diversify in financial services?

In line with DHFL's vision of enabling financial access to all Indians, especially the low and middle income customers, we forayed into life insurance through a joint venture partnership with Prudential Financial Inc. (PFI) in 2013. Recently, we expanded this relationship to form an asset management joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals. DHFL also offers Fixed Deposits with tenures ranging from 12 to 120 months and rewarding interest rates of up to 10.50% for Individual depositors. We can significantly enhance financial inclusion and wealth building at the grassroots level by distributing these products through DHFL's wide network.

3. Can we expect new home loan product to promote home buying amongst the Indians?

DHFL has been constantly innovating on its product portfolio, to be able to meet evolving needs of customers. Our most recent festive offers included a flat processing fee structure for ease of understanding for customers. Further, we have a 30 year product to encourage home-buying at a young age, wherein the EMI amount is relatively lower and the customer can avail of longer working years. In keeping with our customer focus especially in the affordable and low and middle income segments, DHFL will continue to provide customers interesting product propositions. DHFL has also a specialized product proposition for those customers in the low income and informal segment, to enable them buy a home of their own.

4. How do you see the overall industry outlook?

We are expecting several growth drivers to trigger in the Indian housing finance industry in the new future as an outcome of the various initiatives undertaken by the Government. From smart city development, focus on affordable housing, accelerating urbanization, low income house ownership and enhancing penetration of housing finance, the industry is slated to look up. The home loan industry grew from Rs 438.51 billion in March 2000 to Rs 7,47,9.11 billion as on March 2013. The Mortgage to GDP ratio stands at 8% in India in May 14; is amongst the lowest in the world which provides huge opportunity for growth on sustainable basis.

The industry is also going through a major shift. Earlier, rate of interest was the key deciding factor for the customer but now customers are increasingly conscious about factors like easily accessibility, customer service, low operating costs and easy documentation, in addition to low rates of interest. Keeping these conditions in mind, DHFL is poised to tap the low and middle income housing projects space in the growing Indian housing market.

5. Could you tell us about your capex and expansion plans?

DHFL is equipped to cater to the burgeoning affordable housing segment needs, given its thirty years of experience in servicing this category. We will continue to focus on this customer segment, by reaching out to them in tier 2, 3, 4 and 5 locations, while maintaining a healthy loan portfolio and steady net profit growth. DHFL expanded its branch network by 100 numbers, in line with its strategy of being accessible to our focus customer segment across India in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year. Today, the company operates out of over 500 locations across India. These locations help serve 65% of the States & Union Territories in India.

In the forthcoming years, the company aims to expand its presence into the deeper pockets of the country, to enable effective customer access.

6. What is your message to the shareholders and investors of the company?

We are thankful to our investors and appreciate them for showing confidence in DHFL's management all through our years of operation. Our efforts are focused on safeguarding the interests of investors and their investments, while providing value to customers' relationship with us.