Mumbai, Nov 21 (IANS): Housing finance company DHFL on Wednesday reported a whopping 52 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter ending September at Rs 439 crore on the back of improved operating performance.

According to a DHFL statement, the company posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 288 crore in the same quarter last year. The latest performance is even more impressive in the context of the current liquidity crunch being faced by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the wake of last month's payment obligation defaults by infrastructure finance firm IL&FS.

DHFL said its assets under management (AUM) as on the end of the quarter in consideration at Rs 1,30,182 crore grew by 38 per cent over RS 94,079 crore at the end of the same quarter last year.

The company's total income during the July-September quarter at Rs 3,468 crore was up 32 per cent over Rs 2,632 crore earned in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Loan book outstanding during the second quarter at Rs 1,10,093 crore grew 35 per cent over Rs 81,380 crore on this count during the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Loan disbursements during the quarter in question at 13,870 showed an increase of 39 per cent over the corresponding quarter of last year.

The company's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans during the quarter in consideration stood at 0.96 per cent.

Commenting on the results, DHFL Chairman Kapil Wadhawan said in a statement: "Over the past few weeks, the financial services sector, specifically NBFCs, witnessed an unexpected, temporary slump and liquidity tightening. DHFL has taken every step towards mitigating these issues. The company has been diligent towards all its repayments and fulfilled every financial obligation."

The DHFL stock closed on Wednesday at Rs 234.90 a share, up Rs 9.85 or by 4.38 per cent over its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.