Total expenses increased by 8% to Rs. 38.30 crore in Q3FY23, compared with Rs 35.60 crore in Q3FY22.

Operating profit rose by 49% to Rs. 22.25 crore in the third quarter from Rs. 14.93 crore in the same period last year. Operating profit margin and net profit margin were 41% and 33%, respectively, in Q3 FY23, which reflected good growth compared to corresponding quarter of the previous year.

On a consolidated basis, the credit rating agency recorded 9% increase in net profit to Rs 16.31 crore on a 17% increase in total income to Rs 73.73 crore in Q3 FY23 as compared with the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

The board of directors have declared an interim dividend of Rs 10 per share for the third quarter of FY23.

CARE Ratings said that Fundraising by businesses showed mixed performance in the first nine months of this fiscal year. Corporate bond issuances during April-December 2022 stood at Rs 5.7 lakh crore, higher by 20.8% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. However, during the same period, issuances of commercial paper stood at Rs 10.5 lakh crore, 36.9% lower compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Gross bank credit continued to record healthy growth in the current fiscal. Bank credit grew by 9% in November 2022, when compared with March 2022. In the same period last year, credit growth was muted at 1.9%. Credit to industry grew by 4.4% in November 2022 when compared with March 2022, as against the de-growth of 0.7% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Mehul Pandya, MD & CEO, CARE Ratings, said: “With capacity utilisation levels improving, the private sector's intent to invest has improved.

Hence, our initial ratings business continued to witness good growth from the bank loan rating as well as the capital market segments. We could expect a gradual rise in private investment in the coming quarters, even while the global and domestic economic uncertainties will prevent a dramatic turnaround.”

CARE Ratings has established itself as one of the leading credit rating agencies in India. It provides the entire spectrum of credit rating that helps the corporates to raise capital for their various requirements and assists the investors to form an informed investment decision based on the credit risk and their own risk-return expectations.

The scrip fell 2.08% to Rs 611.05 on the BSE.