Five-Star Business Finance Ltd

- Five-Star Business Finance plans to diversify its funding sources, reducing reliance on bank borrowings (currently 66% from banks). - They aim to increase capital market borrowings through NCD issuances and ECB (External Commercial Borrowing) issuances. - Discussions are ongoing with Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) for potential funding. - Recently issued NCDs worth INR 105 crores at around 9.40% cost with a 3-year tenure. - The company is open to a marginal increase in borrowing cost (~25 bps) to secure longer tenure funds and greater diversification. - No specific timeline or target amount was provided; gradual reduction in bank funding and increase in market borrowings is expected over the next 3-4 quarters. - No mention of equity fundraising in the provided transcript.

- Five-Star Business Finance spent about INR 28 crores on technology for the financial year (excluding headcount costs), up from INR 19.3 crores in FY23. - Most tech spend is on SaaS models with implementation costs amortized over 5 years and ongoing licensing fees on a monthly step-up basis. - Technology investments include Salesforce and other platforms across the company. - The INR 28 crore tech spend is expected to increase slightly in coming years due to business growth and expanded tech usage. - There is ongoing evaluation of branch strategy—balancing “super branches” versus smaller, more spread-out branches to optimize operational costs, customer reach, and risk diversification. - No specific mention of other capital expenditure or strategic investments beyond technology and branch network expansion in the provided pages.

- The company is confident of achieving around 35% AUM growth for the current financial year and expects a similar growth rate in the next financial year. - Branch additions are expected to continue at a pace of 80 to 100 branches annually over the next 2-3 years, supporting growth. - Continued investments will be made in key states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka focusing on both existing and new clusters. - Incremental growth will be driven primarily from the South region (approximately 80% of new branches), with 20% from other parts of India. - Average ticket size (ATS) is expected to rise steadily, aiming to reach and exceed pre-COVID levels, growing roughly in line with inflation. - Diversification of funding sources, including NCDs and DFIs, will support volume growth while managing cost of funds. - Digital tech spend is increasing, enhancing operational efficiency and customer reach for future growth.

- Five-Star Business Finance expects AUM growth of around 35% for the current financial year and is confident of maintaining similar growth next year. - Branch additions will remain robust, with 80 to 100 branches expected annually for the next 2 to 3 years, supporting business expansion. - Incremental employee additions will align with branch openings, around 1,500 to 1,800 per year, to support growth and operations. - Cost of funds incremental increase is marginal; diversification of borrowings (including NCD issuance) may slightly raise costs but is manageable without impacting profitability. - Operating metrics like NIM expected to see a slight drop due to higher leverage, but net interest spread remains solid (~14.6% in Q3). - Expense ratios (cost-to-income) are expected to stabilize around 35% to 37%. - Overall, profitability (ROA/ROE) and earnings are expected to grow steadily with business scale, with manageable credit costs and prudent provisioning.

The transcript does not explicitly mention the current or expected orderbook or pending orders for Five-Star Business Finance Limited. However, related insights include: - The company has opened 24 branches in Q3, with 111 branches opened in the first 9 months and a target of around 120 branches for the full financial year. - Disbursements were flat QoQ at INR 1,210 crores but showed 33% growth YoY despite floods. - AUM grew 8% QoQ and 43% YoY, reaching about INR 8,931 crores by December 31, 2023. - The company expects to open around 80-100 branches annually going forward. - Growth guidance remains strong, with a target of around 35% growth for the current and next financial year. No specific details on an orderbook or pending orders were disclosed in the call.