As Laxmi India Finance (LIFC) steps into the public markets with its INR 254 crore IPO, investors are keen to benchmark Laxmi India Finance vs peers. While the market is crowded with both legacy and tech-enabled lenders, LIFC is positioning itself as a “phygital” challenger — combining conservative lending with grassroots execution.
Laxmi India finance peer comparison analysis dives deep into how LIFC stacks up against similar players like MAS Financial, Five-Star Business Finance, SBFC Finance, Ugro Capital, CSL Finance, Akme Fintrade, and Moneyboxx Finance — using not just traditional P/E ratios, but a fuller suite of metrics that seasoned investors track.
📊 Laxmi India Finance Vs Peers: Financial & Valuation Snapshot
| Company | P/E | P/B | ROE (%) | ROCE (%) | D/E | P/S | NPM (%) | EPS (INR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laxmi India Finance | 22.93 | ~2.57 | 15.66 | NA | 4.02 | 6.37 | 14.66 | 8.78 |
| MAS Financial | 18.00 | 2.23 | 14.10 | 11.2 | 3.51 | 3.43 | 19.70 | 17.9 |
| Five-Star Finance | 18.90 | 3.22 | 18.60 | 16.3 | 1.26 | 7.13 | 37.70 | 36.4 |
| SBFC Finance | 32.40 | 3.73 | 11.60 | 11.6 | 1.65 | 8.54 | 26.50 | 3.39 |
| Ugro Capital | 13.60 | 0.97 | 8.26 | 11.0 | 3.37 | 1.40 | 10.30 | 12.2 |
| CSL Finance | 9.92 | 1.32 | 14.2 | 14.6 | 1.29 | 3.32 | 33.50 | 31.6 |
| Akme Fintrade | 9.23 | 0.80 | 11.0 | 14.4 | 0.74 | 2.99 | 32.40 | 0.78 |
| Moneyboxx Finance | 431 | 2.07 | 0.58 | 8.73 | 2.44 | 2.71 | 0.63 | 0.38 |
🏅 Laxmi India Finance Peer Comparison: Key Takeaways
🔐 1. Profitability & Efficiency: Five-Star Leads, But LIFC Holds Its Own
- Five-Star Business Finance leads in RoE (18.6%) and Net Margin (37.7%), reflecting its premium pricing and mature customer base.
- LIFC delivers a solid RoE of 15.66%, even better than MAS Financial (14.1%), and ranks in the top three in profitability.
- Its Net Margin of 14.66%, although behind Five-Star and CSL, is impressive given its recent scale-up and rural-heavy portfolio.
📉 2. Valuation: Reasonable Entry Point for LIFC
- With a P/E of 17.54x and P/B of 2.57x, LIFC is cheaper than SBFC and Five-Star, and trades closer to MAS.
- Its P/S of 6.37x places it in a mid-premium valuation bracket, justified by strong returns and low NPA levels.
- Unlike SBFC (P/E 32.4x) or Moneyboxx (P/E 431x), LIFC’s valuations appear grounded in fundamentals — a trait appreciated by long-term investors.
🧱 3. Capital Structure: LIFC is Heavily Leveraged, But Intentional
- LIFC’s Debt-to-Equity at 4.02x is the highest in the peer set — reflecting aggressive capital deployment, especially toward MSME and vehicle loans.
- However, it offsets this with a 98.8% secured loan book and the lowest GNPA (1.07%) among all players.
📈 4. Growth & Reach: Smaller in Size, High on Efficiency
- LIFC has 1,277 crore AUM, but it’s grown at 34.4% CAGR over three years.
- Its branch density in Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh gives it deep rural penetration — an edge over more urban-centric peers like MAS or Five-Star.
🧮 Margin Matrix: NPM vs EV/EBITDA
Plotting Net Profit Margins vs EV/EBITDA provides a sense of value per unit of operating profit:
- Five-Star: Highest margin, mid EV/EBITDA → premium quality at a fair price
- LIFC: Mid-margin, EV/EBITDA data unavailable → needs more disclosures
- SBFC: High EV/EBITDA, but weaker margins → overvalued relative to profitability
- Ugro & Akme: Lower valuations, mid-margins → value opportunities but with higher risk
⚖️ Final Verdict: Laxmi India Finance Vs Peers
✅ Strengths
- Superior asset quality (lowest NPA among peers)
- Efficient RoE with a conservative underwriting model
- Rural expansion model with sticky borrower base
- Valuation at fair multiples (P/E ~17.5, P/B ~2.5)
⚠️ Watchouts
- High leverage (D/E 4x) — though backed by collateral
- Still sub-scale compared to Five-Star, MAS, SBFC
Conclusion
Laxmi India Finance offers a rare blend of safety and growth — a steadily scaling NBFC with robust profitability, low NPAs, and an entrenched rural presence. While it may lack the glam of digital-first lenders, it compensates with boots-on-ground wisdom, risk controls, and consistent execution.
For investors looking to diversify into high-quality NBFCs serving Bharat, LIFC may be the “lean and clean” pick in a market full of leveraged flash.
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