By P.R. Venkat

Bajaj Finance Ltd. said its first-quarter net profit fell nearly 20% from a year earlier, as it made a provision anticipating the impact Covid-19 will have on its business.

Net profit for the quarter ended June came in at 9.62 billion rupees ($128.70 million) and a provision of INR14.50 billion had been made during the period, the finance company said Tuesday.

However, total revenue rose nearly 14% to INR66.48 billion, mainly supported by higher net interest income.

The company's business operations in the first quarter were considerably affected by government restrictions caused by the pandemic. Bajaj Finance said it faced constraints on the recovery of overdue payments from customers during the first quarter.

The company's consolidated liquidity position remains very strong, with overall liquidity surplus of about INR177 billion as of June 30, Bajaj Finance said. 



  Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com