Mumbai, India, October 22, 2024: Choice International Limited (BSE: 531358, NSE: CHOICEIN), one of the leading financial services companies operating across India (“CIL”, “Choice” or the “Company”), announces its results for quarter and half year ending September 30th, 2024.
Commenting on the Q2 & H1 FY25 performance Mr. Kamal Poddar, Managing Director said:
India ranked as the second-best performing major market globally in H1 FY 2024-25, behind Hong Kong. Nifty 50 saw consistent monthly gains, supported by strong investor inflows, post-election political stability, and a positive economic outlook. Choice closed the quarter on a strong note, with growth of 29% clocking the revenue . For the half year ended, Revenue stood , EBITDA and PAT stood and Rs. 78 Cr, respectively, reinforcing our continued success. This strong H1 FY25 performance highlights our robust growth and reflects our dedication to consistently achieving our financial goals.
Choice consistently exceeds expectations across all segments.
I) The broking & distribution business which comprises 64% of our total revenues achieved a growth of 30% YoY translating to a revenue in Q2 FY25
a. The stock broking business has added 40K demat accounts, bringing the total to 931K demat accounts. Our stock broking division has experienced substantial growth, with a strong focus on user retention and expansion into Tier III cities and beyond
b. The AUM for the Wealth Product business reached , marking a substantial YoY growth of 129%. This significant growth is attributed to enhanced cross-selling efforts, driven by our extensive portfolio of products in this business segment.
II) Our customer centricity and innovative cross-selling techniques have fuelled rapid expansion of our insurance broking operations. Choice Insurance Broking achieved a premium of in Q2 FY25, marking an impressive YoY growth of 31%. The total number of policies sold reached 68,866, demonstrating a remarkable YoY growth of 687%. Our continuous focus on corporate B2B and institutional clients has resulted in a higher conversion rate with a ratio of 72%
III) NBFC business, contributes 10% of total revenues, has experienced robust growth, with a total loan book , including a retail loan book of Rs. 308 Cr NBFC retail lending in India is growing, especially in the Tier II- III cities. To capture this opportunity, at Choice we are focusing more on retail loans and digitizing our lending operations to streamline and fast track our processes through our mobile app, ‘Choice Money’. This has led to a surge in the revenues for this vertical.
IV) Our subsidiary Choice Consultancy, which oversees the Advisory business contributing 26% of our total revenues, has delivered strong performance with a robust order book . Our active participation in grassroots government projects and key initiatives has significantly bolstered our order book, highlighting our commitment to supporting government efforts
The Choice Business Associate Network continues to expand each quarter, fuelled by increasing financial literacy, particularly in underdeveloped regions of the country. With over 44,000 CBAs currently in our network, they have been key to driving our growth and remain an integral part of our ongoing expansion.
To highlight another accomplishment for this quarter, Choice Finserv has acquired the Loan Portfolio (retail lending business) of Paisabuddy Finance Pvt Ltd and Sureworth Financial Services Pvt Ltd. This will enable Choice to boost its AUM by 75% in a single step. With integration of operations, Choice will significantly expand its geographical reach while reinforcing the commitment of bridging the credit gap for underserved communities
Additionally, the board has approved the appointment of Mr. Raj Kumar as an Independent Director on the board. With his extensive experience as a former Managing Director of LIC, where he played a key role in its successful stock exchange listing, Mr. Raj Kumar brings deep expertise in regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and operational efficiency. His leadership in managing large-scale operations will help Choice to strengthen its governance framework, drive operational efficiency, and support sustainable growth.
