4FINANCE REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING 30 JUNE 2017

REVENUE UP 17%, PROFIT BEFORE TAX EUR 35.3 MILLION, SHOWING BENEFITS OF DIVERSIFICATION

LONDON & RIGA, Latvia--()--

29 August 2017. 4finance Holding S.A. (the ‘Group’ or '4finance'), Europe’s largest online and mobile consumer lending group, today announces unaudited consolidated results for the six months ending 30 June 2017 (the ‘Period’).

Financial Highlights

  • Revenue up 17% to EUR 213.6 million in the Period compared with EUR 182.8 million in the prior year period.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 70.8 million for the Period, up 14% year-on-year, with adjusted interest coverage of 2.4x.
  • The Group’s profit before tax for the Period was EUR 35.3 million, a decrease of 9% from EUR 38.6 million in 1H 2016.
  • Online loan issuance during the Period grew by 13% to EUR 609.1 million from EUR 537.2 million in 1H 2016.
  • Net loan portfolio reached EUR 519.8 million as of 30 June 2017, up 5% year to date.
  • Cost to revenue ratio for the Period was 55%, vs. 46% for the six months to 30 June 2016, reflecting a significant increase in staff numbers during last year, acquisitions and investment for future growth.
  • Financial strength remains solid with a capital to assets ratio of 24% as of 30 June 2017 and capital / net loans of 50%, supporting an ordinary dividend payment of EUR 10 million made in July.
  • Credit discipline and effective NPL management maintained, with a non-performing loans to online loan issuance ratio of 8.5% as of 30 June 2017, improving from 9.3% at year end 2016, and a reduction in net impairment / revenue to 22%.

Operational Highlights

  • The number of registered online lending customers reached 6.9 million as of 30 June 2017, up 30% from a year ago, with a further 1.4 million registered banking customers added through TBI Bank.
  • Continued strong financial performance from TBI Bank and an initial transfer of Swedish instalment loans underway.
  • Latin American growth continues, with issued loan volumes and revenue for the Period reaching 3x the prior year period.
  • Pilot of near-prime products started in Lithuania (instalment loans) and continued in Spain (point-of-sale).
  • Mark Ruddock appointed as CEO, Stephen Buechner joins as CRO and new executive committee positions for Compliance and Data. Martins Baumanis has also decided to leave the Group in September.
  • Lado Gurgenidze and David Geovanis appointed to Supervisory Board, bringing extensive experience.

Mark Ruddock, CEO of 4finance, commented:

"These results evidence the growing scale and geographic reach of 4finance. With revenue growth of 17% and profit before tax of EUR 35.3 million, our first half performance also demonstrates the benefits of our diversification. The quarter-on-quarter revenue growth of 4% and the quarterly reduction in the cost to revenue ratio are encouraging early signs of our drive to optimize performance as we prepare for further growth in the business.

"I am excited at the opportunity ahead for 4finance. Today, some 2.6 billion consumers globally remain underserved by traditional financial products; breakthroughs in data science and analytics are enabling new methods of scoring those with limited credit histories; we are seeing unprecedented access to the internet via increasingly ubiquitous and inexpensive mobile devices; and the millennial generation are breaking old conventions about the nature of financial products and how they are consumed.

“4finance is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these trends. The simplicity and transparency of our products, our experience in alternative scoring methodologies, our geographic diversification and the fact that over 50% of our customers now interact with us on mobile devices is a solid foundation on which to pursue this global opportunity.

"We welcome Robin Jose as Chief Data Officer and Elaine McKinney as Chief Compliance Officer. These roles reflect the importance of us being both a data-driven and a responsible lender. We respect Manu Panda's decision to return to Asia for family reasons and welcome Stephen Buechner as CRO to lead our overall risk management efforts. Lastly we thank Martins Baumanis for his great contribution to the business over the last 6 years as he steps down in September."

Key Financial Ratios

  Six Months Ended 30 June 2017
(unaudited)
  Six Months Ended 30 June 2016
(unaudited)
  Year Ended
31 December 2016
(audited)
  Year Ended
31 December 2015
(audited)
2017 2016 2016 2015
 
Net loan portfolio (in millions of EUR)(1) 519.8 322.7 493.9 308.3
Capital/assets ratio(2) 24% 34% 25% 40%
Capital/net loan portfolio(3) 50% 62% 47% 56%
Adjusted interest coverage(4)

2.4 x

 

3.9x 3.6x 4.1x
Profit before tax margin(5) 17% 21% 21% 23%
Return on average equity(6) 21% 33% 31% 41%
Cost/revenue ratio(7) 55% 46% 48% 42%
Net impairment to revenue ratio(8) 22% 25% 23% 24%
Non-performing loans to loan issuance ratio(9) 8.5% 9.5% 9.3% 9.0%

Definitions and Notes:

(1) Gross loan portfolio less impairment provisions.

(2) Total equity/total assets.

(3) Total equity/net customer loan portfolio.

(4) Adjusted EBITDA/interest expense. See page 6 for details of adjustments.

(5) Profit before tax/interest income.

(6) Annualised profit from continuing operations/average equity (total equity as of the start and end of each period divided by two).

(7) General administrative expenses/interest income.

(8) Net impairment losses on loans and receivables/interest income.

(9) Non-performing online loans with a delay of over 90 days/value of online loans issued. The value of loans issued represents online loans issued for the two-year period before commencement of the 90 day past-due period, eg for 30 June 2017: 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2017.

Contacts

Contact:   James Etherington, Head of Investor Relations
Email:

james.etherington@4finance.com /

investorrelations@4finance.com

Website:

www.4finance.com

Conference call

A conference call with management to discuss these results is scheduled for Wednesday 30 August at 15:00 UK time. To register, please visit www.4finance.com/investors.

About 4finance

Established in 2008, 4finance is the largest and fastest growing online and mobile consumer lending group in Europe with operations in 16 countries. Putting innovative data-driven analysis into all aspects of the business, 4finance has grown rapidly, issuing over EUR 4 billion to date in single payment loans, instalment loans and lines of credit.

4finance operates through a portfolio of market leading brands with strong regional presence including Vivus, SMSCredit and Zaplo. A responsible lender, offering simple, convenient and transparent products and service, 4finance is meeting growing customer demand from those under-served by conventional lending.

4finance has group offices in Riga (Latvia), London (UK) and Miami (USA), and currently operates in Argentina, Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovakia and Sweden. The group also provides consumer and SME lending through TBI Bank, its EU licensed banking operations in Bulgaria and Romania.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this document are “forward-looking statements”. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements.

Category Code: MSCH
Sequence Number: 628660
Time of Receipt (offset from UTC): 20170829T141854+0100

Contacts

4finance SA

Release Summary

4finance reports results for the six months ending 30 June 2017

Contacts

4finance SA