ASA International Group PLC June 2024 Trading and Business Update

RNS Number : 6520W

ASA International Group PLC

17 July 2024

Press release

ASA International Group plc June 2024 Trading and Business update

Improved business performance sustained and expected to continue through H2 2024

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17 July 2024 - ASA International, ('ASA International', the 'Company' or the 'Group'), one of the world's largest international microfinance institutions, today provides the following update on its business operations as of 30 June 2024. The Company has seen sustained momentum in its business performance in H1 2024 along with continued improvement in the Group's operating environment.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated by the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014, as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

June 2024 Trading update highlights

· We have seen a continued improvement in the operating environment and business performance of our operating entities since March 2024. This is in line with the guidance we provided in the 2023 full year results as announced on 23 April 2024, and we expect this momentum to continue in H2 2024.

· The Group's Gross OLP increased to USD 398 million at the end of June 2024 from USD 377 million at the end of December 2023. The growth in Gross OLP in USD terms was driven by improved performances in Pakistan, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya.

· The unrestricted cash and cash equivalents position of the Group remained at a healthy level of USD 68 million as at 30 June 2024, compared to USD 48 million as at 31 December 2023.

· PAR>30 for the Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding off-book portfolio, remained broadly stable at 2.5% at the end of June 2024 compared to 2.1% at the end of December 2023. PAR>30 remains excellent below 1% in our operations in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.

· The Company continued to have a strong funding pipeline of USD 174 million fresh loans as at end of June 2024 (31 December 2023: USD 152 million) to support growth of operations. These can be accessed in the short to medium term. The total amount of new debt raised in the year to 30 June 2024 amounted to USD 101 million.

Outlook

The outlook for 2024 remains positive with continued improved business performance expected for our operations on the back of the momentum from March 2024, and continuing high demand for loans from our clients. This is expected to result in an improved trading performance for 2024 (versus last year), which should be ahead of current market consensus for the current financial year*. However, as previously announced at the time of our FY 2023 results, inflation and related FX movements will continue to have an impact on the final outcome of the Group's operating subsidiaries' performances in FY 2024. In H1 2024, the currencies in most operating markets have been relatively stable vis a vis the USD when comparing 30 June 2024 with 31 December 2023, with the exception of Myanmar, Ghana and Nigeria.

The reported net income for the Group will also depend on which countries will be classified as hyperinflationary at the end of 2024. Based on the latest preliminary inflation projections, it is still expected that the accounting for hyperinflation will be applicable for Ghana and Sierra Leone in 2024. Pakistan and Nigeria remain on the IMF watchlist.

* Market consensus on reported basis as at 17 July 2024 is pre-tax income of USD 36.9 million and net income of USD 15.5 million.

June 2024 Business update highlights

· The Group's Gross OLP increased to USD 398 million (4.3% higher than in March 2024 and 15% higher than at 30 June 2023).

· All operating subsidiaries achieved collection efficiency of more than 90% with 12 countries achieving more than 95%.

· Collection efficiency in India remained broadly stable at 97% in June 2024 compared to 98% in March 2024. The intentional decrease in our own portfolio in India has slowed down while the business continues to grow the off-book BC portfolio in India. This approach is designed to retain good clients.

· PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue for more than 365 days, slightly increased to 2.4% in June 2024 (March 2024: 1.8%).

· Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180 days and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30 remained broadly stable at 1.5% in June 2024 (March 2024: 1.1%).

· Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in nine countries.

Collection efficiency until 30 June 2024⁽¹⁾

Countries	Jan/24	Feb/24	Mar/24	Apr/24	May/24	Jun/24
Pakistan	100%	100%	99%	99%	99%	98%
India (total)	95%	97%	98%	99%	98%	97%
Sri Lanka	96%	96%	96%	95%	95%	95%
The Philippines	98%	98%	99%	99%	98%	98%
Myanmar	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Ghana	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Nigeria	94%	94%	93%	93%	94%	94%
Sierra Leone	97%	97%	97%	97%	96%	96%
Tanzania	99%	99%	99%	99%	99%	99%
Kenya	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Uganda	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
Rwanda	96%	95%	95%	95%	96%	97%
Zambia	99%	99%	99%	98%	98%	98%

⁽¹⁾ Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients divided by realisable collections for the period. It is calculated as follows: the sum of actual regular collections, actual overdue collections and actual advance payments divided by the sum of realisable regular collections, actual overdue collections

and actual advance payments. Under this definition collection efficiency cannot exceed 100%.

· Collection efficiency remained stable at high levels in most of our operating countries during June 2024 compared to March 2024.

· Collection efficiency in India remained broadly stable at 97% in June 2024 compared to 98% in March 2024.

· Although market conditions in both Myanmar and Nigeria remained challenging, collection efficiency remained stable.

Loan portfolio quality up to and including June 2024^{(2, 3)}

	Gross OLP (in USDm)						Non-overdue loans						PAR>30 less PAR>180
	Apr/24	May/24			Jun/24		Apr/24		May/24		Jun/24		Apr/24		May/24		Jun/24
Pakistan	72	74			79		99.6%		97.3%		93.3%		0.1%		0.3%		0.7%
India (total)	51	52			51		79.6%		80.5%		80.2%		2.2%		4.0%		4.2%
Sri Lanka	5	5			5		91.5%		90.8%		90.7%		3.4%		3.6%		3.9%
The Philippines	57	57			58		94.7%		93.9%		94.1%		2.1%		2.1%		2.2%
Myanmar	23	23			20		93.2%		93.4%		93.7%		0.2%		0.1%		0.1%
Ghana	45	46			48		99.2%		99.3%		99.6%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%
Nigeria	9	9			9		77.5%		78.8%		79.8%		6.0%		5.7%		5.4%
Sierra Leone	5	6			5		91.6%		90.4%		91.3%		2.8%		3.0%		3.9%
Tanzania	66	67			68		98.2%		98.1%		98.3%		0.7%		0.8%		0.8%
Kenya	30	32			32		99.6%		99.6%		99.6%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%
Uganda	14	14			15		98.9%		99.0%		99.0%		0.2%		0.2%		0.1%
Rwanda	4	4			4		89.1%		89.4%		89.7%		4.4%		4.2%		3.8%
Zambia	3	3			3		94.0%		93.5%		93.8%		1.4%		1.9%		2.2%
Group	385	393			398		94.6%		94.2%		93.7%		1.1%		1.3%		1.5%
	PAR>30					PAR>90						PAR>180
	Apr/24		May/24	Jun/24		Apr/24		May/24		Jun/24		Apr/24		May/24		Jun/24
Pakistan	0.3%		0.3%	1.2%		0.3%		0.2%		0.8%		0.2%		0.0%		0.5%
India (total)	5.2%		5.8%	5.8%		4.1%		3.1%		3.0%		3.0%		1.8%		1.6%
Sri Lanka	5.1%		5.3%	5.6%		3.0%		3.2%		3.3%		1.6%		1.7%		1.8%
The Philippines	3.9%		4.3%	4.5%		3.0%		3.3%		3.4%		1.8%		2.2%		2.3%
Myanmar	0.2%		0.3%	0.3%		0.2%		0.2%		0.2%		0.0%		0.1%		0.1%
Ghana	0.2%		0.2%	0.2%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%
Nigeria	11.6%		9.9%	9.0%		8.6%		7.4%		7.0%		5.6%		4.2%		3.6%
Sierra Leone	4.6%		4.8%	5.7%		3.4%		3.4%		3.7%		1.8%		1.8%		1.8%
Tanzania	1.2%		1.3%	1.3%		0.8%		0.9%		0.9%		0.5%		0.5%		0.5%
Kenya	0.2%		0.2%	0.2%		0.2%		0.2%		0.2%		0.1%		0.1%		0.1%
Uganda	0.7%		0.5%	0.4%		0.6%		0.5%		0.4%		0.5%		0.4%		0.3%
Rwanda	7.5%		7.3%	6.9%		5.4%		5.4%		5.3%		3.1%		3.1%		3.0%
Zambia	2.6%		3.0%	3.2%		1.8%		1.9%		1.9%		1.1%		1.1%		1.0%
Group	2.1%		2.2%	2.4%		1.6%		1.5%		1.6%		1.1%		0.9%		0.9%

(2) PAR>x is the percentage of outstanding customer loans with at least one instalment payment overdue x days, excluding loans more than 365 days overdue, to Gross OLP including off-book loans. Loans overdue more than 365 days now comprise 3.1% of the Gross OLP.

(3) The table "PAR>30 less PAR>180" shows the percentage of outstanding client loans with a PAR greater than 30 days, less those loans which have been fully provided for.

· Gross OLP in India slightly increased to USD 51 million (3% higher than in March 2024 and 3% higher than in June 2023).

· Gross OLP in Myanmar decreased to USD 20 million as at 30 June 2024 from USD 23 million as at 31 May 2024, primarily due to sharp depreciation of the MMK against the USD.

· PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue for more than 365 days, slightly increased to 2.4% in June 2024.

· The off-book portfolio in India consists of IDFC of USD 9.4 million, Fincare of USD 5.9 million and the Jana portfolio of USD 30.7 million. The off-book DA portfolio amounts to USD 1.0 million.

Disbursements vs collections of loans until 30 June 2024⁽⁴⁾

Countries	Jan/24	Feb/24	Mar/24	Apr/24	May/24	Jun/24
Pakistan	106%	79%	84%	121%	87%	97%
India (total)	127%	122%	118%	128%	100%	51%
Sri Lanka	91%	133%	119%	79%	99%	87%
The Philippines	103%	109%	107%	108%	104%	102%
Myanmar	109%	107%	113%	92%	117%	118%
Ghana	86%	105%	98%	106%	132%	129%
Nigeria	60%	77%	73%	94%	113%	120%
Sierra Leone	96%	119%	130%	101%	110%	85%
Tanzania	101%	102%	109%	110%	107%	118%
Kenya	118%	115%	115%	119%	114%	101%
Uganda	93%	109%	110%	107%	111%	102%
Rwanda	77%	96%	110%	119%	118%	122%
Zambia	81%	100%	110%	104%	109%	122%

⁽⁴⁾ Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements made to clients divided by total amounts collected from clients in the period.

· Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in nine countries.

· The decreased percentages in India and Sierra Leone in June 2024 were due to severe weather and natural disasters. These percentages are expected to recover and improve from July 2024.

· The decreased percentages in Sri Lanka in April to June 2024 were due to funding challenges. These percentages are expected to improve from July as the business in Sri Lanka secures new funding.

Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 30 June 2024

	Clients (in thousands)			Delta		Gross OLP (in USDm)			Delta
Countries	Jun/23	May/24	Jun/24	Jun/23-Jun/24	May/24-Jun/24	Jun/23	May/24	Jun/24	Jun/23-Jun/24 USD	Jun/23-Jun/24 CC⁽⁵⁾	May/24- Jun/24 USD
Pakistan	608	617	618	2%	0.2%	66	74	79	20%	17%	7%
India (total)	207	194	186	-10%	-4%	50	52	51	3%	5%	-2%
Sri Lanka	45	44	42	-6%	-3%	4	5	5	6%	5%	-2%
The Philippines	332	351	352	6%	0.3%	52	57	58	10%	17%	0%
Myanmar	98	118	119	22%	1%	18	23	20	13%	34%	-13%
Ghana	181	186	197	9%	6%	41	46	48	17%	56%	3%
Nigeria	163	160	146	-10%	-8%	17	9	9	-48%	4%	-5%
Sierra Leone	35	38	37	6%	-1%	5	6	5	14%	35%	-4%
Tanzania	227	257	258	14%	0.3%	57	67	68	21%	32%	2%
Kenya	180	227	238	32%	5%	18	32	32	77%	63%	1%
Uganda	106	128	131	24%	3%	12	14	15	26%	27%	3%
Rwanda	20	21	21	7%	2%	4	4	4	15%	29%	3%
Zambia	23	26	27	18%	2%	4	3	3	-7%	27%	16%
Group	2,225	2,365	2,373	7%	0.3%	347	393	398	15%	25.4%	1.3%

⁽⁵⁾ Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local currency results to USD with the exchange rate from the beginning of the period.

· The Group's Gross OLP increased to USD 398 million (4.3% higher than in March 2024 and 15% higher than in June 2023).

---

The person responsible for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company for the purposes of MAR is Tanwir Rahman, CFO.

Enquiries:

ASA International Group plc

Investor Relations

Mischa Assink ir@asa-international.com

About ASA International Group plc

ASA International Group plc (ASAI: LN) is one of the world's largest international microfinance institutions, with a strong commitment to financial inclusion and socioeconomic progress. The company provides small, socially responsible loans to low-income, financially underserved entrepreneurs, predominantly women, across South Asia, South East Asia, West and East Africa.

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