Anirban Chakraborty, MD and CEO, Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) says the Loan Book of TFCI stood at Rs.1,989 crore (of which 82 per cent is towards the MSME segment) with fresh disbursements of Rs.200 crore made in Q3 FY21.

Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, TFCI reported a net profit of Rs.24.06 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2020 (Q3FY21). This was down only 12 per cent compared to the same quarter last year on account of increase in expenditure when compared to the previous quarter. On a 9-month basis, TFCI posted a net profit of Rs.62.57 crore as compared to Rs.68.85 crore in the year-ago comparable period, thereby recording a decline of 9 per cent. However, the net income for Q3FY21 increased by 6.19 per cent to Rs.39.36 crore as compared to the year-ago period. When compared to Q2FY21, there was a significant rise of 21.38 per cent in the net income of TFCI. 

Commenting on the progress, Anirban Chakraborty, Managing Director said, “The third quarter witnessed a progressive recovery playing out across sectors led by the moderation of concerns caused by Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the onset of the festive season, driving a revival in consumer sentiments and demand. A combination of economic revival, a substantial decline in active Covid-19 infections, and better prevention awareness across the country encouraged people to undertake domestic travel during this festive & holiday season. The revival in domestic tourism provided a much-needed boost to the hospitality and travel industry with improvement in occupancy rates on a sequential basis."

Chakraborty added that with a certain section of the hospitality industry, especially the leisure segment, starting to see a surge in domestic demand, and with the easing of international travel restrictions, the demand is going to be even stronger.

As on 31st December 2020, the Loan Book of TFCI stood at Rs.1,989 crore (of which 82 per cent is towards the MSME segment) with fresh disbursements of Rs.200 crore in Q3 FY21. According to Chakraborty, TFCI's profitability continued to remain healthy with the Pre-provisioning Operating Profit and Profit After Tax at Rs.32 crore and Rs.24 crore respectively in Q3 FY21. "Our Asset Quality continued to be robust with Gross NPL and Net NPL standing at 0.87 per cent and 0.63 per cent respectively. TFCI is well-capitalized with a CAR of 37.59 per cent. With the backing of a strong balance sheet and the revival in the broader economy, including travel & tourism, we will continue to focus on business growth in diversified sectors, while maintaining our leadership position in the hospitality sector," he said.

TFCI is the only institution in the country funding tourism projects having more than 30 years of existence. So far, TFCI has facilitated the creation and addition 51,516 hotel rooms in the country, representing almost equal to 30 per cent of the room capacity. The data shared in this annual report indicates that TFCI has aided in offering direct employment to about 95,733 persons by lending its financial assistance.