Chennai: The non-banking finance company Ashok Leyland Finance Limited has joined hands with Bharat Petroleum (BP) to launch affinity cards. The cardholders can use them to fill their vehicle tanks with fuel at BP outlets. The finance company is planning to build a cardholder base of 10,000 during the first year of the launch.

"We will soon announce the scheme as we have to formally ink the deal with BP", says Ashok Leyland Finance Limited's managing director S Nagarajan. "Later, we plan to tie up with tyre manufacturers and insurance companies where the affinity cards could be used.

The upturn in the commercial vehicles off-take has augured well for Ashok Leyland Finance. During the first quarter of this fiscal the company increased its disbursements to the commercial vehicles segment (passenger and multi-axle vehicles) by Rs 70 crore to Rs 239 crore as compared to the previous year's corresponding period.

Ashok Leyland Finance Limited, which recently started financing two-wheeler purchases in a major way, has disbursed Rs 94 crore during the quarter under review. The gross disbursements in hire purchase for the quarter stands at Rs 441 crore as compared to Rs 366 crore logged during the corresponding quarter the previous fiscal.

Consequently, the gross income and the after tax profit, too, have gone up to Rs 82 crore and Rs 9.2 crore from Rs 65 crore and Rs 6.3 crore, respectively, registered during the last fiscal's first quarter.

"We expect to maintain the 20-per cent increase in disbursements throughout this year", says Nagarajan. For the whole of last fiscal Ashok Leyland Finance disbursed Rs 1,850 crore - the highest among the three other majors: Kotak, Sundaram Finance and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance.

Ashok Leyland Finance executive director (operations) SV Parthasarathy says financing tractor purchase is another prospective area for the company. After commercial vehicles and passenger cars, tractors are the big-ticket vehicles that are sold in good volumes. Ashok Leyland Finance has a tie up with TAFE and Eicher for the purpose.

Apart from vehicle financing, the company will also focus on transport bill discounting and working capital financing. Ashok Leyland Finance is aiming at a volume of Rs 220 crore under these heads.

Ashok Leyland Finance executive director (finance) N Sampath Kumar says his company will fund its needs through a mix of preference share capital, commercial paper, debentures, term loans, fixed deposits and asset securitisation.

A pioneer in the last activity the company hopes to raise Rs 750 crore through this route. "We will securitise only 30 per cent of our disbursements", says Kumar. During the first quarter the company had raised Rs 175 crore from securitisation, of which Rs 120 crore is without recourse.

"Less than 5 per cent of the asset securitised devolved on us. Given the kind of asset quality, we are going only for contracts without recourse", says Kumar. Moreover, mutual funds and private banks are showing interest in securitisation of Ashok Leyland receivables. "We offer a mix of our receivables and not just the commercial vehicle portfolio alone. The company will also augment its resource base through Rs 100 crore 9 per cent preference-share issue with a five-year lock-in period." The parent company Ashok Leyland has committed to subscribe for Rs 50 crore, and other institutions will take the balance.