Kochi: Manappuram Finance has swung sharply back towards its traditional gold-loan business, with gold loans accounting for 82% of consolidated AUM in Q1 FY27, up from just 48.5% two years ago.
The shift effectively reverses a diversification strategy that had reduced gold loans to less than half of the company's assets. Manappuram now expects gold loans to account for 75–80% of consolidated AUM, while planning 500 new branches in FY27 to support further expansion of the business.
Gold loans accounted for 48.5% of Manappuram's consolidated AUM in FY24. The share rose to 59.5% in FY25 and 65% in Q1 FY26 before surging to 82% in the latest quarter.
Gold-loan AUM stood at Rs57,006 crore at the end of June, against consolidated AUM of Rs69,635 crore. The company is targeting 25–30% growth in its gold-loan book during FY27.
The reversal is also evident in the company's approach to its other lending businesses. Manappuram has put vehicle finance on hold for FY27, while microfinance is expected to be contained at 8–10% of consolidated AUM.
The company's branch expansion plans underline how strongly it is now betting on gold. It plans to add 500 branches during FY27, with around 60% of the expansion in South and Central India and Maharashtra and another 25% in eastern states including Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha.
Branch expansion
The pace of the proposed expansion is striking. Manappuram added only around 10 branches in the first quarter, leaving roughly 490 branches to be opened over the remaining nine months if it is to meet its FY27 target.
CEO V P Nandakumar has also pointed to a change in the nature of gold borrowing. Gold loans, he said, are increasingly being used by MSMEs and business owners as a source of productive funding rather than merely as a distress borrowing product.
Nearly half of Manappuram's gold-loan book now comprises loans above Rs3 lakh, underlining the growing importance of larger-ticket borrowing.
The renewed focus on gold comes as Manappuram prepares for a management transition, with Ashish Singh set to take over as MD and CEO from January 1, 2027.
For Manappuram, therefore, the story is not simply that gold loans are growing. A business that had brought gold below half of its AUM has now moved to a position where more than four-fifths of its lending assets are once again tied to gold, with a 500-branch expansion planned to push that strategy further.
