Early Salary Services Limited, the NBFC arm of fintech lender Fibe, defied the broader downturn in the digital lending sector by nearly doubling its profit in FY25, even as rivals struggled with rising defaults and slowing disbursements in the personal loan segment.
The company posted a profit after tax of Rs 101.18 crore for the year ended March 2025, up 82.8% from Rs 55.34 crore in FY24 despite a sharp uptick in finance costs and provisioning expenses.
Early Salary posted a 43.3% increase in interest income, which rose to Rs 1,001.1 crore in FY25 from Rs 698.77 crore the previous year. Its total revenue from operations climbed 45.8%, reaching Rs 1,033.03 crore from Rs 708.73 crore in FY24.
The company incurred finance costs of Rs 225.79 crore, up 51.9% from Rs 148.68 crore a year ago. The company also incurred Rs 292.78 crore as impairment on financial instruments in FY25, up 43.6% from Rs 203.83 crore in the previous year.
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Employee benefit expenses rose to Rs 74.43 crore in FY25 from Rs 52.62 crore, a 41.4% increase.
Other expenses stood at Rs 302.81 crore, up 33.4% from Rs 226.95 crore in FY24. Total expenses grew 41.8% year-on-year to Rs 899.4 crore, compared to Rs 634.41 crore in FY24.
Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) as a share of the loan book rose to 3.07% in FY25 from 2.67% in FY24, reflecting some asset stress. However, net NPA improved to 0.89%, down from 1.30% in FY24.
The positive results are a stark contrast to a wave of strain across the digital lending sector. Several players, including PayU, Mobikwik, and LoanTap, reported rising credit costs and slower disbursements after the Reserve Bank of India’s cautionary stance on the rapid growth of small-ticket personal loans.
YourStory had earlier reported that lending startups faced a severe funding crunch amid regulatory tightening and elevated borrowing costs, which led to a sharp drop in unsecured loan disbursals and forced many fintechs to pivot their lending strategies.
Fibe raised Rs 560 crore through listed, secured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) during the year, backed by receivables. The instruments were listed on the BSE.
