REG - ASA Intnl. Grp PLC - April 2022 business update

ASA InternationalAnnouncement

17/05/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 6890L  ASA International Group PLC  17 May 2022

 

ASA International Group plc April 2022 business update

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17 May 2022 - 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 at 30 April 2022.

·    Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 105m of unrestricted
cash and cash equivalents across the Group.

·    The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled
approximately USD 196m.

·    With the exception of India and Myanmar, all other operating
subsidiaries continued to achieve collection efficiency of more than 90% with
8 countries achieving more than 95%.

·    India collections improved from 81% to 83%, despite the substantial
overdue collections and moratoriums provided to clients. Collection
efficiency, excluding instalments due from clients receiving the one-time loan
restructuring offered by the Reserve Bank of India ('RBI'), however decreased
from 116% to 111%.

·    The benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and
excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, slightly decreased from 6.7% to
6.3%.

·    The PAR>30 for the Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India
and Myanmar, remained at 1.9%.

·    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 4.4% from 4.6%.

·    Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 10
countries. The decreasing percentage in India is primarily due to the ongoing
strategic decision to reduce disbursements while political unrest in Myanmar
and Sri Lanka led to the country operations curtailing disbursements as a
precaution.

·    With the number of clients broadly stable at 2.4m, despite the
continuing strategic focus in India on only collections, the Gross OLP
slightly increased to USD 418m (0.3 % higher than in March 2022 and 13% lower
than in April 2021).

·    The moratorium amount decreased from USD 21.7m to USD 20.1m, and is
composed of the restructured loans of certain distressed clients in India as
per the RBI guidelines. No other operating subsidiary granted moratoriums.

 

Funding

·    Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at approximately
USD 105m.

·    The Company secured approximately USD 17m of new loans from local and
international lenders in April 2022.

·    The majority of the Company's USD 196m pipeline of future wholesale
loans are supported by agreed term sheets and/or draft loan documentation. The
terms and conditions of the remaining loans are being negotiated with lenders.

Collection efficiency until 30 April 2022((1))

 Countries        Nov/21  Dec/21  Jan/22  Feb/22  Mar/22  Apr/22
 India            69%     74%     76%     76%     81%     83%
 Pakistan         99%     99%     99%     100%    100%    100%
 Sri Lanka        92%     94%     93%     93%     94%     93%
 The Philippines  97%     97%     98%     98%     99%     99%
 Myanmar          75%     78%     78%     72%     72%     72%
 Ghana            99%     99%     99%     99%     100%    100%
 Nigeria          97%     96%     95%     96%     96%     95%
 Sierra Leone     92%     92%     92%     92%     94%     94%
 Kenya            100%    100%    99%     100%    100%    100%
 Uganda           98%     100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Tanzania         100%    100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Rwanda           97%     97%     97%     97%     97%     97%
 Zambia           99%     99%     100%    100%    98%     98%
 ((1)) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients divided
 by realizable 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 realizable regular collections, actual overdue
 collections and actual advance payments. Under this definition collection
 efficiency cannot exceed 100%.

 ((2)) Collections are impacted by the ongoing lockdowns and civil unrest in
 some areas of our operations.

·    Collection efficiency across the Group increased or remained broadly
stable compared to the previous month in all countries.

·   Collections in India improved to 83%, despite the substantial overdue
collections and moratoriums provided to clients. Collection efficiency,
excluding instalments due from clients receiving the one-time loan
restructuring, however decreased from 116% to 111%.

·   Collection efficiency in India, including regular and overdue
collections as well as advance payments, decreased from 113% to 109% as a
percentage of the regular, realisable collections, including advance payments.
The substantial difference is due to the Group's policy that any loan
instalment paid is first credited against the oldest outstanding amount
overdue. This has an adverse impact on India's monthly collection efficiency,
which is further aggravated by the relatively long duration of the loans
disbursed in India. This adjusted collection efficiency metric illustrates
that most clients in India continue to make payments on their loans due.

Loan portfolio quality up to and including April 2022((3, 4, 5))

                 Gross OLP (in USDm)               Non-overdue loans              PAR>30 less PAR>180
                Feb/22    Mar/22    Apr/22        Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22       Feb/22      Mar/22      Apr/22
 India (total)   107       103       98           69.7%    70.1%    70.7%        10.2%       9.3%        8.6%
 Pakistan        83        83        84           99.7%    99.7%    99.7%        0.2%        0.2%        0.2%
 Sri Lanka       8         6         5            85.9%    86.7%    86.1%        4.1%        4.0%        4.2%
 Philippines     47        47        48           95.7%    96.3%    96.6%        1.9%        1.6%        1.4%
 Myanmar         21        21        20           58.5%    57.7%    61.8%        22.7%       29.3%       33.3%
 Ghana           44        41        43           99.3%    99.3%    99.4%        0.2%        0.2%        0.2%
 Nigeria         37        37        38           90.6%    90.3%    89.8%        3.6%        3.9%        3.9%
 Sierra Leone    7         7         7            71.1%    65.8%    78.4%        7.1%        6.8%        6.7%
 Kenya           18        18        20           98.6%    98.6%    98.7%        0.6%        0.5%        0.5%
 Uganda          10        11        11           91.7%    92.9%    93.7%        0.9%        0.4%        0.2%
 Tanzania        37        38        40           99.1%    99.1%    99.1%        0.1%        0.2%        0.1%
 Rwanda          3         3         3            92.4%    93.1%    93.2%        3.2%        3.1%        3.1%
 Zambia          2         2         2            97.7%    96.8%    95.8%        0.8%        1.1%        1.6%
 Group           424       417       418          87.7%    87.9%    89.0%        4.6%        4.6%        4.4%

( )

                 PAR>30                      PAR>90                      PAR>180
                Feb/22  Mar/22  Apr/22      Feb/22  Mar/22  Apr/22      Feb/22  Mar/22  Apr/22
 India (total)  17.1%   15.4%   14.3%       9.9%    8.7%    7.9%        6.9%    6.2%    5.7%
 Pakistan       0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.1%    0.1%    0.1%        0.0%    0.0%    0.0%
 Sri Lanka      6.9%    6.6%    6.9%        4.3%    4.2%    4.6%        2.8%    2.6%    2.6%
 Philippines    2.7%    2.8%    2.8%        2.0%    2.1%    2.3%        0.8%    1.2%    1.4%
 Myanmar        23.3%   29.8%   33.8%       0.9%    1.0%    14.4%       0.5%    0.5%    0.4%
 Ghana          0.3%    0.3%    0.3%        0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.1%    0.1%    0.1%
 Nigeria        5.8%    6.2%    6.2%        3.8%    4.0%    4.1%        2.2%    2.3%    2.3%
 Sierra Leone   9.5%    9.5%    9.8%        6.2%    6.8%    7.5%        2.4%    2.7%    3.1%
 Kenya          1.1%    1.0%    0.9%        0.8%    0.7%    0.7%        0.5%    0.4%    0.4%
 Uganda         2.4%    2.0%    1.7%        2.3%    1.9%    1.6%        1.4%    1.6%    1.6%
 Tanzania       0.4%    0.4%    0.4%        0.3%    0.3%    0.3%        0.3%    0.2%    0.2%
 Rwanda         5.1%    5.1%    4.9%        3.3%    3.5%    3.3%        1.9%    2.0%    1.8%
 Zambia         1.1%    1.4%    1.9%        0.5%    0.6%    0.8%        0.3%    0.3%    0.3%
 Group          6.8%    6.7%    6.3%        3.5%    3.1%    3.5%        2.2%    2.1%    1.9%
 ( )

 ((3))  Gross OLP includes the off-book BC and DA model, excluding interest
 receivable and before deducting ECL provisions and modification loss.

 ((4))  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% of the Gross OLP.

 ((5))  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.

·    PAR>30 for the Group slightly decreased from 6.7% to 6.3%.

·    Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD 33.8m is
capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD 1.5m has no credit
exposure.

 

Disbursements vs collections of loans until 30 April 2022((6))

 Countries        Nov/21  Dec/21  Jan/22  Feb/22  Mar/22  Apr/22
 India            85%     88%     78%     65%     62%     52%
 Pakistan         98%     100%    100%    96%     100%    117%
 Sri Lanka        100%    113%    70%     115%    122%    55%
 The Philippines  90%     81%     80%     93%     104%    112%
 Myanmar          90%     95%     99%     99%     116%    77%
 Ghana            114%    108%    74%     110%    115%    118%
 Nigeria          134%    93%     71%     98%     98%     110%
 Sierra Leone     112%    110%    97%     102%    113%    105%
 Kenya            103%    55%     95%     101%    113%    125%
 Uganda           121%    69%     81%     112%    118%    122%
 Tanzania         109%    107%    114%    112%    110%    130%
 Rwanda           105%    98%     65%     80%     107%    112%
 Zambia           111%    109%    76%     80%     109%    116%
 ((6)) Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements made to
 clients divided by total amounts collected from clients in the period.

·    Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 10
countries. The decreasing percentage in India was due to the ongoing strategic
decision to reduce disbursements while political unrest in Myanmar and Sri
Lanka led to the country operations curtailing disbursements as a precaution.

 

Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 30 April 2022

                   Clients (in thousands)           Delta                           Gross OLP (in USDm)           Delta
 Countries        Apr/21     Mar/22     Apr/22     Apr/21-Apr/22  Mar/22-April/22  Apr/21    Mar/22    Apr/22    Apr/21-Apr/22 USD  Apr/21-Apr/22 CC (7)  Mar/22-Apr/22 USD
 India            736        476        465        -37%           -2%              175       103       98        -44%               -42%                  -5%
 Pakistan         454        541        552        22%            2%               76        83        84        11%                34%                   1%
 Sri Lanka        56         52         51         -9%            -3%              9         6         5         -48%               -7%                   -21%
 The Philippines  325        299        303        -7%            1%               54        47        48        -11%               -4%                   2%
 Myanmar          123        112        110        -11%           -2%              26        21        20        -23%               -8%                   -7%
 Ghana            157        162        164        4%             1%               47        41        43        -9%                19%                   4%
 Nigeria          257        241        237        -8%            -2%              34        37        38        13%                23%                   4%
 Sierra Leone     39         42         41         4%             -2%              5         7         7         22%                49%                   -4%
 Kenya            109        123        127        17%            3%               16        18        20        25%                35%                   7%
 Uganda           85         95         96         14%            2%               9         11        11        26%                25%                   7%
 Tanzania         137        190        195        42%            3%               25        38        40        59%                59%                   6%
 Rwanda           18         18         18         -1%            -1%              3         3         3         21%                25%                   2%
 Zambia           9          16         17         88%            4%               1         2         2         253%               169%                  10%
 Total            2.505      2.368      2.375      -5%            0,30%            479       417       418       -13%               -2%                   0,3%

( )

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

·    With the number of clients broadly stable at 2.4m, despite the
continuing strategic focus in India on only collections, Gross OLP slightly
increased to USD 418m (0.3 % higher than in March 2022 and 13% lower than in
April 2021).

 

Selected moratoriums((8)) on loan repayments until 30 April 2022

             Clients under moratorium (in thousands)
 Countries  Feb/22          Mar/22          Apr/22          As % of Total Clients
 India      205             205             205             44%
 Group      205             205             205             9%

 

             Moratorium amounts (USD thousands)
 Countries  Feb/22         Mar/22         Apr/22          April Moratoriums as % of OLP    As % of Total Moratoriums
 India      23.5           21.5           20.0           21%                              100%
 Group      23.5           21.5           20.0           5%                               100%

((8)) Moratoriums relate to clients who have received an extension for the
payment of one or more loan instalments during the month.

·    Moratoriums on loan repayments relate to approximately 44% of clients
in India, who accepted to benefit from the one-time debt restructuring scheme
established by the RBI and confirmed in September 2021, which ends in June
2022. See RBI Covid-19 Restructuring Guidelines
(https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12086&Mode=0) .

·    The moratorium amount across the Group decreased to USD 20.1m, which
represents 5% of the Group's Gross OLP.

 

Key events in May 2022

·    In Sri Lanka nationwide curfews have been imposed by the government
due to ongoing civil and political protests. The Sri Lanka operations have
implemented certain measures including restricting loan sizes in order to
prevent clients from over-borrowing due to the economic crisis.

·   Other than the existing partial lockdown and curfews in Myanmar and
Sri Lanka, the Company is not aware of any further restrictions implemented in
its operating countries as a result of the emergence of the Omicron variant up
until 16 May 2022.

 

 

Enquiries:

ASA International Group plc

Investor
Relations
 
             +31 6 2030 0139

Véronique
Schyns
                vschyns@asa-international.com
(mailto:vschyns@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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