Sammaan Capital Q4 FY26 Earnings Call: IFC Invests $1 Billion, Domestic Ratings Upgraded to AA+

Sammaan Capital Ltd held its Q4 FY26 earnings call on May 20, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

IFC Partnership & Q4 FY26 Snapshot

• IFC's $1 billion investment closed 31 March 2026— IFC owns 28.5% post-allotment, expanding to 43.5% after warrant conversion over the next 18 months; total consideration of ~$927 million (Rs.5,652 Cr equity + Rs.3,200 Cr warrants).
• Opening AUM of Rs.53,160 crores with zero gross and net NPA— provision buffers cover terminal credit cost; historical annualized credit cost on Rs.3.6 lakh crore disbursement is 1.9%.
• Domestic ratings upgraded to AA+ within 50 days of FY27— CRISIL and ICRA up one notch each, CARE up two notches, ahead of the projected Q3 FY27 timeline.
• Book value per share from Rs.160 to exceed Rs.200 by end of FY27— supported by the IFC equity infusion and operational improvements.
• International rating upgrades pending within ~25 days— management expects upgrades in early Q1 FY27, which would further support cost of funds reduction.

From Rs.53K Cr to Rs.2L Cr: Disciplined Scaling

• Long-term aspiration of Rs.2,00,000 crore AUM and 18% ROE— driven by a mix of mortgage and non-mortgage portfolios, though no specific year is attached to this aspiration.
• FY27 (FY 2026-2027) disbursement target of Rs.30,000 crores— with PAT guided at Rs.1,400 crores; core growth remains mortgage-led in FY27 and FY28.
• Rs.72,000 crores disbursement target for FY 2028-2029— equivalent to ~Rs.6,000 crore per month, a scale previously achieved in FY 2017-2018.
• 80% of FY27-28 disbursements from core products— declining to a "50/50 split between mortgage-backed disbursements and other products" by FY 2029-2030 (verbatim horizon).
• Portfolio mix guardrails— 80% retail disbursements, with 60% of the retail book secured (primarily mortgages) plus gold; unsecured business and personal loans drive the remainder.
• Annual disbursement target of Rs.50,000 crores by FY 2027-2028— with Q1 FY27 expected 50-60% higher than Q4 FY26, followed by 30-40% sequential increases.

NIM Expansion and Rating-Led Cost Reduction

• NIM expansion from 3.5% to 5.8% over FY27 to FY28— driven by spread on sold-on book and cost-free equity infusion from IFC's billion-dollar investment.
• ROA progression: FY27 at 1.8%, FY28 at 3.7%, FY29 at 4.4%, FY30 at 4.4%— steady-state target of ~4%+ ROA; management corrected a presentation error that had shown 8% for FY30.
• 270 bps improvement in cost of funds tied to rating migration— Gagan Banga reaffirmed 120-150 bps from AA to AA+ and a further 120-150 bps from AA+ to AAA, on a marginal cost basis; timing of full reduction is not tied to a specific fiscal year.
• ~90% of borrowings are onshore— management expects marginal cost of funds to decline by ~160 bps from upgrades, potentially doubling the current 160 bps ROA.
• Cost of funds decline will be gradual— fixed-maturity bonds and bank loans with 3-4 year terms mean incremental borrowings benefit immediately while stock borrowings roll down over time.
• Spread on sold-on book adds directly to NIM— the difference between AUM and loan book is Rs.30,000 crores in FY28, expanding to Rs.45,000 crores.

37 AI Use Cases and Productivity Leap

• 37 AI use cases under evaluation or implementation— targeting agent productivity up 30%, secured mortgage turnaround time reduced from 5-7 days to 2-3 days, and meaningful improvement in fraud detection.
• Productivity surged 2X between March and April (Q4 FY26 → Q1 FY27)— rising from 0.6 loans per person per month to a target of 2+ loans per person per month.
• Avelora is integrating AI into credit decisions and customer experience— Her Excellency Dalia Khurshid stated AI is being applied to organizational productivity, efficiency, and risk decisions.
• CRM upgrade to Salesforce completed ~6 months ago— technology cost already incurred and not a future capex item.
• Gold loan branch setup cost of Rs.20 lakh per branch— with a 3-year period to become fully productive and profitable; the existing 213-240 branch network is already sized to handle new products.

Expanding into Bharat: People and Branches

• Workforce target of 8,000 employees by end of FY27— expanding to 20,000 by FY30, with borrower base expected to grow ~10-fold.
• Branch network to reach 1,600— from the current base, supporting expansion into tier 4, 5, and 6 cities where management sees "almost endless" asset growth, collaborating with banks rather than competing.
• Gold loan branch setup at Rs.20 lakh per branch— 3-year payback period; existing 213-240 branches already sized for new products, limiting additional physical investment.
• Workforce expansion is the main investment area— management states it is well within current earnings trajectory, with all incremental costs running through the P&L and built into projected profit figures; no material upfront capital expenditure is expected.
• Cross-sell of insurance to 90% of borrowers— already a key profitability driver, enabled by the growing branch and workforce network.

FY27 Targets, Dividend Policy & Recovery Outlook

• FY27 PAT target of Rs.1,400 crores— with NIM starting at 3.5% and cost-income ratio on a path from ~50% to "26% by FY 2029-2030" (verbatim horizon).
• Dividend payout policy of at least 25%— management targeting 40% of profits.
• Capital adequacy at 20.2%— pro forma 29% after warrant conversion; balance sheet gearing capped at 3.5-4.0x; 30% of incremental disbursements via co-lending or direct assignment.
• Recovery of ~Rs.7,000 crores expected from provisions already created— management cites a historical recovery rate of 70-80% on sales to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs); the recovery period is unspecified.
• Provision characterized as a one-time capital adjustment— management states the Rs.53,000 crore asset book is painless, supporting a 1.6% ROA, and that this step is technical, allowing full focus on growth.
• International rating upgrades expected within 25 days— following domestic upgrades; AAA-rated borrowers currently access funds at sub-7.5%, and management sees Sammaan's cost of funds moving in that direction with a lag.