Kissht’s Next Growth Play: Better Borrowers, Lower Costs & Loan Against Property

Recently listed NBFC Kissht is entering its “quality over quantity” phase, as it looks to build a more sustainable lending business. 

During the Q1 FY27 earnings call of Kissht parent OnEMI Technology Solutions, cofounders Ranvir Singh and Krishnan Vishwanathan outlined the company’s roadmap for transitioning from a hyper-growth digital lender into a more disciplined NBFC focused on lower credit costs, sustainable profitability and technology-led efficiency. 

The strategy is already beginning to reflect in its financials. Kissht reported a 59% YoY jump in consolidated net profit to ₹95.1 Cr in Q1 FY27, while operating revenue rose 45% YoY to ₹669.5 Cr. 

Behind these numbers is a relatively simple operating model. Kissht currently derives most of its lending business from just two products: unsecured personal loans and loans against property (LAP). 

As of June 2026, the company’s assets under management (AUM) stood at ₹8,001 Cr. Unsecured personal loans accounted for 92.3% (₹7,384 Cr) of the total AUM, while secured LAP contributed the remaining 7.7% (₹617 Cr). 

With these two businesses at the centre of its strategy, Kissht is now focusing on improving borrower quality, expanding its secured lending business, lowering borrowing costs, and building operating leverage. 

Prioritising Better Borrowers Over Higher Yields 

Rather than chasing loan book growth at any cost, Kissht is increasingly focusing on lending to higher-quality customers, even if that means sacrificing some lending yields in the near term. 

According to the management, the strategy is already translating into healthier operating metrics. In Q1 FY27, credit cost as a percentage of AUM declined to 6.8% from 8.85% a year earlier. On a sequential basis too, it improved from 7.02%.

The decline in credit cost indicates that Kissht is setting aside a smaller proportion of its loan book to cover expected credit losses. 

“One of the key principles we have consistently followed and disclosed in the past is that with every passing year, we want to move towards higher-quality customers,” said Singh during the earnings call. 

As part of this strategy, the company is offering lower borrowing rates to better-quality customers. It added that customer cohorts acquired after December 2025 are showing better collection efficiency and lower bounce rates. 

Kissht has also begun reopening select geographies where lending had earlier been paused because of higher credit risk. It has resumed operations in about 180 of the 450 affected pincodes and now operates across nearly 17,000 pincodes, with around 11,000 contributing 98% of its revenue. 

At the same time, management acknowledged stress in parts of the lending market and said the company has tightened underwriting norms for certain salaried and self-employed borrowers where income visibility and employment indicators have weakened. 

Building A Second Lending Engine

Alongside improving its core personal loan business, Kissht is also working to make its secured LAP vertical a meaningful second growth engine. The company expects the business to break even by Q3 FY27, an important milestone in its efforts to diversify its lending portfolio.

Management said the LAP portfolio has performed in line with or better than expectations, attributing much of that confidence to the technology-led operating model rather than a branch-led approach. 

Launched in Q4 FY25, the vertical accounted for 7.7% of Kissht’s AUM at the end of June. The company has expanded the business to 101 branches while investing in AI-enabled property valuation, digital onboarding, model-based underwriting and customer servicing. 

Cross-selling is also emerging as an important growth lever, with management saying more than 40% of LAP customers already come from Kissht’s personal loan customer base. 

With break-even now within reach, management believes LAP is steadily emerging as a second lending engine alongside its core unsecured lending business. 

Lower Borrowing Costs To Drive Profitability 

Beyond loan growth, Kissht believes lower borrowing costs and operating leverage will become its biggest profitability drivers over the coming years. 

The company said recent borrowings have been raised at interest rates of around 12%-12.9%, about 150 basis points lower than FY26 levels. It expects these costs to decline further over FY27 and over the medium term as asset quality improves and ratings strengthen. 

Management added that it expects potential upgrades from rating agencies such as CRISIL and India Ratings to further improve its borrowing profile over time. 

“We believe our improving asset quality, stronger profitability and higher capitalisation position us favourably for a ratings upgrade. If a rating upgrade happens, it may not have a significant impact on FY27 because borrowing costs have already started declining. However, it could have a meaningful impact from FY28 onwards,” the management said.

Meanwhile, operating expenses stand at around 18% of AUM, with a large portion comprising fixed costs such as technology investments, leadership, and administrative expenses. As the loan book expands, these costs are expected to grow more slowly, allowing operating leverage to improve profitability. 

Beyond lending, Kissht is also gradually expanding its financial services offerings. While it currently distributes insurance products through partners, it recently received its AMFI registration to enter the mutual fund distribution business. Management, however, said it expects these products to complement, rather than materially alter, its business in the near term. 

While personal loans and LAP remain the immediate priorities, Kissht said it is evaluating products such as gold loans, business loans, education loans, auto loans and loans against mutual funds over the next decade as it seeks to evolve into a broader financial services platform. 

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