Sundaram Finance shareholders approve Harsha Viji reappointment

Sundaram Finance Limited shareholders approved the reappointment of Mr. Harsha Viji as a director liable to retire by rotation at its annual general meeting held on July 22, 2026, despite significant opposition from public institutional investors. The resolution passed with 90.20% support overall, but faced a 27.21% dissent rate among public institutions, highlighting a divergence in shareholder sentiment regarding board composition. Concurrently, shareholders overwhelmingly approved the adoption of audited standalone and consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, and the declaration of the final dividend.

The AGM saw a total of 57,064 shareholders on the record date of July 15, 2026. A total of 71,849,508 votes were polled out of 110,127,532 outstanding shares, representing a 65.24% turnout. Voting was conducted exclusively through electronic means (e-voting), with no poll, venue, or postal ballot votes recorded. The promoter group held 41,338,283 shares, while public institutions held 29,679,553 shares and public non-institutions held 39,109,696 shares.

Voting Results by Resolution

The voting patterns across the four ordinary resolutions reveal distinct levels of shareholder consensus. The adoption of financial statements and the declaration of the final dividend received near-unanimous support, with over 99.9% of polled votes in favor. In contrast, the reappointment of Mr. Rajiv C. Lochan also passed comfortably with 99.78% support, although it saw slightly higher dissent from public institutions compared to the financial resolutions.

Resolution	Total Votes Polled	Votes in Favor	% in Favor	Key Dissent Group
Adoption of Financial Statements (FY26)	71,849,508	71,824,337	99.96%	Public Institutions (0.10%)
Declaration of Final Dividend	71,869,895	71,869,884	100.00%	None
Reappointment of Mr. Harsha Viji	68,773,484	62,032,262	90.20%	Public Institutions (27.21%)
Reappointment of Mr. Rajiv C. Lochan	71,847,531	71,692,348	99.78%	Public Institutions (0.61%)

Shareholder Sentiment Analysis

The most notable aspect of the AGM proceedings was the split in voting behavior regarding Mr. Harsha Viji’s reappointment. While the promoter group voted unanimously in favor (100.00%), public institutions cast 6,735,900 votes against the resolution, representing 27.21% of their polled votes. This stands in sharp contrast to the other resolutions, where public institutional dissent was negligible or non-existent. Public non-institutional shareholders remained largely supportive, voting 99.93% in favor of Mr. Viji’s reappointment.

This divergence suggests that while retail and non-institutional investors align closely with management’s board proposals, certain institutional stakeholders may have specific concerns regarding Mr. Viji’s tenure or role. The promoters, who hold a controlling stake, were interested parties in this resolution, whereas they had no interest in the other agenda items. The high overall approval rate ensures the reappointment is valid, but the institutional dissent warrants monitoring for future governance discussions.

1 Day	5 Days	1 Month	6 Months	1 Year	5 Years
+0.73%	+0.07%	-1.02%	-11.57%	-14.25%	+72.43%

Sundaram Finance reported a net profit of ₹1,834 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, representing a 19% increase from the previous year's ₹1,543 crore. The company's disbursements grew by 13.8% to ₹32,321 crore during the year under review, while gross receivables under management stood at ₹70,137 crore as of March 31, 2026, up 16.3% over the previous year. The Board recommended a final dividend of ₹24 per share, which, combined with an interim dividend of ₹16 per share, totals ₹40 per share for the financial year.

The company's net worth stood at ₹12,715 crore as of March 31, 2026, with a capital adequacy of 18.95%, comfortably above the statutory requirement of 15%. Asset quality remained robust, with Gross Stage III assets at 1.44% and Net Stage III assets at 0.69%. The company maintained comfortable liquidity through liquid investments and undrawn bank lines.

Financial Performance

The company's growth was recorded across all geographies, despite external demand uncertainties. Margins remained under pressure, though prudent risk pricing and competitive resource mobilisation, supported by the company's AAA credit rating, helped sustain margins at a healthy level. The automotive sector, a key driver for the company, recorded its highest-ever sales across principal vehicle segments in FY26.

Metric	Value	Growth/Change
Net Profit	₹1,834 crore	19%
Disbursements	₹32,321 crore	13.8%
Gross Receivables	₹70,137 crore	16.3%
Net Worth	₹12,715 crore	-
Capital Adequacy	18.95%	-

Dividend Declaration

Shareholders approved the declaration of a final dividend of ₹24 per share (240% on the face value of ₹10). This is in addition to the interim dividend of ₹16 per share (160% on the face value of ₹10) paid in February 2026. The total dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, amounts to ₹40 per share (400% on the face value of ₹10). The total dividend payout of ₹444.42 crore will be paid out of the profits for the year 2025-26.

Subsidiary Performance

Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited reported assets under management of ₹82,987 crore for FY26, compared with ₹76,008 crore in the previous year. Profit after tax stood at ₹173.60 crore. Sundaram Home Finance Limited reported disbursements of ₹6,946 crore, a growth of 4.5%, and a profit after tax of ₹281.88 crore. Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited reported a Gross Written Premium of ₹4,638 crore and a profit after tax of ₹107 crore.