REG - ASA Intnl. Grp PLC - ASA International December 2021 business update
19/01/2022 07:05
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RNS Number : 8766Y ASA International Group PLC 19 January 2022
Press release
ASA International Group plc December 2021 business update
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 19 January 2022 - ASA International, ('ASA
International', the 'Company' or the 'Group'), one of the world's largest
international microfinance institutions, today provides the following update
of the impact of Covid-19 on its business operations as at 31 December 2021.
· Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 91m of unrestricted
cash and cash equivalents across the Group. The reduction in unrestricted cash
and cash equivalents compared to November, is primarily due to loan repayments
in India.
· The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled
approximately USD 187m, which has come down due to USD 19m of fresh loans
secured before the 2021 year-end.
· With the exception of India and Myanmar, all other operating
companies continued to achieve collection efficiency of more than 90% and 9
countries achieved more than 95%.
· India collections improved to 74% from 69%, as most states slowly
recovered from recent lockdowns. Collection efficiency, excluding instalments
due from clients receiving the one-time loan restructuring offered by the
Reserve Bank of India ('RBI'), increased to 94%.
· Sri Lanka collections improved to 94% from 92%, following the end of
nationwide lockdowns.
· Collections in Myanmar improved to 78% from 75% in November, despite
the partial lockdown imposed by the local government.
· The benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and
excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, improved to 7.3% from 10.1% in
November, and PAR>90 improved to 4.6% from 7.2% in November.
· The Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India, the Philippines
and Myanmar, collectively have been able to reduce PAR>30 to 1.6%.
· Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180 days
and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30 slightly improved
from 4.4% in November to 4.1%.
· Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 4
countries. The decreasing percentages seen in Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria,
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda were primarily due to reduced loan uptake
by clients over the Christmas holidays.
· With the number of clients decreasing to 2.4m (6.2% lower than in
November and fractionally higher than in December 2020) partly due to
provisional write-offs, and with disbursements as percentage of collections
decreasing, Gross OLP decreased to USD 429m (5% lower than in November 2021
and 4% lower than in December 2020).
· The moratoriums in December amounted to USD 29.5m, primarily due to
the loan restructuring of certain distressed clients in India as per the RBI
guidelines.
Health impact of COVID-19 on staff and clients
· Since March 2020, the number of staff members confirmed as infected
by Covid-19 increased to 459 of over 12,800 staff, with two deaths. Confirmed
infections amongst 2.4m clients increased to 20,748 from 20,395 in the
previous month, resulting in 685 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Of
the 685 client deaths across the Group, 451 are from Myanmar, with no deaths
occurring in December 2021.
Funding
· Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at approximately
USD 91m. The reduction in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents compared to
November, is primarily due to loan repayments in India.
· The majority of the Company's USD 187m 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. The drop in the funding pipeline was partially caused by the
relatively large amount (approximately USD 19m) of new loans secured from
local and international lenders in December.
Collection efficiency until 31 December 2021((1, 2))
Countries Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 Aug/21 Sep/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India 87% 67% 55% 58% 60% 64% 70% 69% 74%
Pakistan 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99%
Sri Lanka 93% 57% 76%((3)) 76% 80%((3)) Nil((3)) 91% 92% 94%
The Philippines 84% 89% 99% 100% 99% 96% 97% 97% 97%
Myanmar 55% 67% 70% 64%((4)) Nil((5)) 55%((6)) 68%((6)) 75%((6)) 78%((6))
Ghana 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100% 99% 99%
Nigeria 95% 94% 96% 96% 96% 95% 96% 97% 96%
Sierra Leone 93% 92% 94% 93% 92% 91% 93% 92% 92%
Kenya 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Uganda 100% 100% 95% 83% 84% 89% 94% 98% 100%
Tanzania 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Rwanda 95% 96% 96% 96% 94% 96% 97% 97% 97%
Zambia 100% 99% 100% 100% 99% 100% 99% 99% 99%
((1)) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients divided
by realizable collections for the period.
((2)) As of December 2020, the definition of collection efficiency has been
amended in view of the increased amount of overdue collection and advance
payments in various countries to: 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. This also means that collection efficiency no longer can exceed
100%.
((3)) The collection efficiency for 1-15 June 2021, 20-31 August 2021, and
1-29 September 2021 is nil due to the lockdowns in Sri Lanka. Only the
collection efficiency for 16-30 June 2021,1-19 August 2021, and 30 September
2021 is provided.
((4)) Collection efficiency for 1-16 July 2021. The collection efficiency for
17-31 July is nil due to the holiday from 17 July to 1 August 2021, announced
by the Myanmar Government, so only the collection efficiency for 1-16 July
2021 is provided.
((5)) Collection efficiency for August 2021 is nil due to the stay-at-home
policy from 1 August to 24 September 2021, announced by the Myanmar
Government.
((6)) Collections are impacted by the ongoing lockdowns.
· Collection efficiency across the Group increased or remained broadly
stable compared to the previous month in all countries.
· Collections in India improved to 74%, as clients' businesses continue
to slowly recover from the impact of recent lockdowns in most states.
Collection efficiency, excluding instalments due from clients receiving the
one-time loan restructuring, increased to 94%.
· Collection efficiency, including regular and overdue collections as
well as advance payments, amounts to 95% as a percentage of the regular,
realizable 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.
· Collections in Sri Lanka improved to 94%, following the end of
nation-wide lockdowns.
· Myanmar collections improved to 78%, despite the partial lockdown
imposed by the government.
Loan portfolio quality up to and including December 2021((7, 8, 9) )
Gross OLP (in USDm) Non-overdue loans PAR>30 less PAR>180
Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India (total) 125 125 113 55.7% 57.7% 67.2% 13.3% 12.6% 12.4%
Pakistan 76 77 79 99.6% 99.7% 99.7% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Sri Lanka 8 8 8 81.1% 82.5% 87.2% 6.4% 4.3% 3.6%
Philippines 55 56 47 77.7% 79.1% 95.5% 2.4% 2.1% 2.3%
Myanmar 20 20 20 98.6% 98.6% 97.9% 0.4% 0.4% 0.6%
Ghana 47 49 49 99.1% 99.2% 99.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%
Nigeria 37 41 40 90.5% 90.9% 92.7% 2.9% 2.6% 2.8%
Sierra Leone 7 7 7 79.7% 78.8% 87.4% 3.2% 4.9% 5.6%
Kenya 19 19 17 91.1% 91.6% 98.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.5%
Uganda 10 10 10 85.5% 89.1% 89.8% 5.5% 3.8% 3.1%
Tanzania 31 33 35 98.3% 98.4% 99.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%
Rwanda 3 3 3 90.9% 92.7% 92.9% 2.8% 2.4% 2.6%
Zambia 2 2 2 98.9% 98.4% 98.2% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%
Group 439 449 429 82.0% 83.2% 89.1% 4.8% 4.4% 4.1%
( )
PAR>30 PAR>90 PAR>180
Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India (total) 29.4% 25.2% 22.9% 20.3% 16.5% 14.2% 16.0% 12.6% 10.5%
Pakistan 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Sri Lanka 9.1% 6.8% 6.0% 6.7% 5.2% 4.0% 2.8% 2.5% 2.5%
Philippines 18.2% 17.2% 2.5% 16.6% 16.0% 1.5% 15.8% 15.1% 0.3%
Myanmar 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5%
Ghana 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Nigeria 4.5% 4.2% 4.6% 2.9% 2.8% 3.1% 1.6% 1.6% 1.7%
Sierra Leone 5.1% 6.8% 7.5% 3.2% 3.5% 4.0% 1.9% 1.9% 1.9%
Kenya 1.6% 1.0% 1.0% 1.3% 0.8% 0.8% 1.1% 0.6% 0.5%
Uganda 10.6% 5.6% 3.8% 7.1% 4.4% 3.4% 5.1% 1.8% 0.7%
Tanzania 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3%
Rwanda 6.4% 4.7% 4.5% 4.6% 3.5% 3.2% 3.6% 2.3% 1.9%
Zambia 1.0% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2%
Group 11.8% 10.1% 7.3% 8.6% 7.2% 4.6% 7.0% 5.7% 3.1%
( )
((7) ) Gross OLP includes the off-book BC and DA model, excluding interest
receivable and before deducting ECL provisions and modification loss.
((8) ) 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 1% of the Gross OLP, following a provisional write-off of
bad debts.
((9) ) 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.
· The reduction in Gross OLP and PAR in India and the Philippines are
primarily caused by provisional write-offs. As a result, PAR>30 for the
Group improved to 7.3%, which was also impacted by moratoriums granted in
Myanmar.
· Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD 33.7m is
capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD 1.8m has no credit
exposure.
Disbursements vs collections of loans until 31 December 2021((10))
Countries Apr/21 May/21 Jun/21 Jul/21 Aug/21 Sep/21 Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21
India 71% 3% 5% 25% 36% 52% 39% 85% 88%
Pakistan 102% 89%((11)) 102% 98% 103% 100% 100% 98% 100%
Sri Lanka 43% 17% 0% 56% 87% Nil((13)) 86% 100% 113%
The Philippines 88% 91% 88% 87% 91% 89% 90% 90% 81%
Myanmar 30% 76% 87% 64% Nil((12)) 37% 73% 90% 95%
Ghana 99% 91%((11)) 99% 85% 112% 120% 111% 114% 108%
Nigeria 109% 108% 109% 103% 104% 110% 128% 134% 93%
Sierra Leone 95% 101% 118% 119% 133% 124% 112% 112% 110%
Kenya 100% 100% 93% 107% 97% 100% 96% 103% 55%
Uganda 105% 99% 53% 60% 93% 109% 115% 121% 69%
Tanzania 107% 109% 96% 86% 91% 100% 107% 109% 97%
Rwanda 95% 106% 81% 61% 95% 102% 101% 105% 98%
Zambia 107% 142% 170% 103% 102% 102% 110% 111% 109%
((10)) Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements made
to clients divided by total loans collected from clients in the period.
((11)) Slowdown in disbursements due to official EID holidays in second week
of May.
((12)) Disbursements vs collections for August is nil due to the stay-at-home
policy announced by the Myanmar Government.
((13)) Disbursements vs collections for September is nil due the nationwide
lockdowns.
· Due to the Christmas holidays, disbursements of new loans decreased
as a percentage of weekly collections in ten countries.
Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio( )until 31 December
2021
Clients (in thousands) Delta Gross OLP (in USDm) Delta
Countries Dec/20 Nov/21 Dec/21 Dec/20-Dec/21 Nov/21-Dec/21 Dec/20 Nov/21 Dec/21 Dec/20-Dec/21 USD Dec/20-Dec/21 CC((14)) Nov/21-Dec/21 USD
India 714 629 541 -24% -14% 165 125 113 -32% -31% -10%
Pakistan 416 501 512 23% 2% 64 77 79 22% 36% 3%
Sri Lanka 56 52 53 -5% 2% 9 8 8 -8% 1% 2%
The Philippines 299 352 290 -3% -18% 50 56 47 -7% -1% -16%
Myanmar 129 113 111 -14% -1% 31 20 20 -34% -12% 1%
Ghana 158 158 159 1% 0% 42 49 49 15% 21% 1%
Nigeria 253 265 254 0% -4% 33 41 40 23% 31% -2%
Sierra Leone 36 45 44 22% -2% 4 7 7 55% 73% -1%
Kenya 92 129 119 29% -8% 13 19 17 27% 32% -14%
Uganda 81 91 92 13% 1% 8 10 10 20% 17% -5%
Tanzania 121 172 174 43% 1% 22 33 35 61% 60% 5%
Rwanda 19 18 18 -6% 3% 3 3 3 14% 19% 2%
Zambia 5 14 15 171% 7% 0.4 2 2 392% 287% 5%
Total 2,381 2,539 2,382 0.04% -6.2% 445 450 429 -4% 2% -5%
( )
((14)) 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 decreasing to 2.4m (6.2% lower than in
November and fractionally higher than in December 2020) caused by provisional
write-offs, and disbursements as percentage of collections decreasing, Gross
OLP decreased to USD 429m (5% lower than in November 2021 and 4% lower than
in December 2020).
Selected moratoriums((15)) on loan repayments until 31 December 2021
Clients under moratorium (in thousands)
Countries Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 As % of Total Clients
India 205 205 205 38%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0%
Sri Lanka 5 1 0 0%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0%
Myanmar 54 49 44 39%
Ghana 0 0 0 0%
Nigeria 0 0 0 0%
Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0%
Kenya 0 0 0 0%
Uganda 0 0 0 0%
Tanzania 0 0 0 0%
Rwanda 0 0 0 0%
Zambia 0 0 0 0%
Total 264 255 249 10%
Moratorium amounts (USD thousands)
Countries Oct/21 Nov/21 Dec/21 December Moratoriums as % of OLP As % of Total Moratoriums
India 35,276 31,935 28,753 26% 97%
Pakistan 0 0 0 0% 0%
Sri Lanka 71 12 0 0% 0%
The Philippines 0 0 0 0% 0%
Myanmar 1,010 902 778 4% 3%
Ghana 0 0 0 0% 0%
Nigeria 0 0 0 0% 0%
Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0% 0%
Kenya 0 0 0 0% 0%
Uganda 0 0 0 0% 0%
Tanzania 0 0 0 0% 0%
Rwanda 0 0 0 0% 0%
Zambia 0 0 0 0% 0%
Total 36,358 32,850 29,531 7% 100%
((15)) 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 primarily to approximately 38%
of clients in India, who accepted to benefit from the one-time debt
restructuring scheme established by the RBI and confirmed in September 2021.
See RBI Covid-19 Restructuring Guidelines
(https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12086&Mode=0) .
· Moratoriums granted in Myanmar were due to disruption in operations
following partial lockdowns.
· The moratorium amount across the Group was USD 29.5m, which
represents 7% of the Group's Gross OLP.
Key events in January 2022
· In West Bengal, India, a lockdown has been imposed in several
districts until 31 January 2022, impacting field staff gatherings with
clients.
· Other than the existing partial lockdown and curfews in Myanmar,
Uganda and Rwanda, 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 17 January 2022.
Please note that, while the Company's operational performance appears to
gradually normalize in most countries except for India and Myanmar, the risk
of additional challenges to our operations should not be underestimated, due
to (i) the still relatively high infection rates, (ii) the current lack of
available vaccines in most of our operating countries, (iii) the risk of the
introduction of more infectious COVID-19 variants in our operating countries,
and (iv) the associated disruption this may cause to the businesses of our
clients.
---
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 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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