Bajaj Finance posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by a pickup in loan growth.The non-banking financial company reported a 28 per cent y-o-y rise in consolidated profit after tax to ₹6,081 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts’ expectation of a profit of ₹5,856 crore, per data compiled by LSEG.The lender benefited from robust retail credit demand, after it implemented more stringent underwriting over the last year to improve asset quality. That helped assets under management grow 24 per cent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in three quarters.Bajaj Finance’s net interest income — the difference between interest earned on credit and paid on borrowings — rose 23 per cent to ₹12,571 crore.The non-bank lender also adopted a more cautious lending approach in segments like loans to medium- to small-businesses after grappling with higher delinquencies in such categories.Its gross non-performing asset ratio improved to 0.96 per cent, compared with 1.01 per cent in the previous quarter and 1.03 per cent a year earlier.Published on July 30, 2026