India's only-listed microlender -SKS Microfinance’s founder and chairman -Vikram Akula -may call it quits. As stated in few media reports, the company's board of directors, who will meet today, are likely to discuss Akula's resignation and also deliberate on the terms of a settlement, although the agenda of the board does not include the same. The buzz doing round suggests that PH Ravikumar, an independent director on its board and former chief executive of NCDEX, will become the company's non-executive chairman.
Akula, who’s blamed to be the man behind the sluggish financials of the company, is likely to get a “good” severance package since his term as executive chairman had not ended. Akula, earlier the non-executive chairman of SKS, was appointed executive chairman of the company for five years from April 1, 2011. He received Rs 1.75 crore as commission from the company in the last financial year.
Micro-lenders in India, including SKS, are currently battling a crisis of confidence with mounting losses, deteriorating asset quality, poor loan recovery and absence of bank funding. However, the company, which is even expected to revamp in business model, has suffered huge losses during the second quarter of this fiscal with its shares falling to an all time low. SKS Microfinance posted a net loss of Rs 384 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2011, on account of lower income and higher provisioning.
Beleaguered Indian microfinance firm is also likely to write off its entire outstanding loan portfolio of Rs 822 crore in Andhra Pradesh, its biggest market. The company plans to write off Rs 678 crore of loans. The company has written off the outstanding loans in AP and brought them down from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 822 crore. In addition, there is a cushioning of deferred tax of Rs 220 crore, and if that is factored in the total outstanding comes down further. Further the company is also pinning its hopes on non-AP markets, where it sees a fresh demand of at least Rs 10,000 crore.
SKS, backed by investor George Soros, among others, went public last August and raised $358 million. Earlier this month, the microfinance company received board approval to raise up to Rs 900 crore ($183 million) from share sale to institutional investors.
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