REG - ASA Intnl. Grp PLC - Q3 2024 Business Update

ASA InternationalAnnouncement

22/10/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0192J  ASA International Group PLC  22 October 2024

ASA International Group plc - Q3 2024 Business Update

ASA International Group plc (LSE: ASAI), one of the world's largest
international microfinance institutions, today provides the following update
on its business operations for the three month period ended 30 September 2024.

Highlights

·    Gross OLP increased to USD 420m - 6% higher than at the end of Q2
2024 and 16% higher than at the end of the same period in 2023.

·    PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans
overdue for more than 365 days, slightly increased to 2.3% as at 30 September
2024 (30 June 2024: 2.2%) primarily due to slightly lower portfolio quality in
the Philippines.

·    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% as at 30 September 2024 (30 June 2024: 1.4%).

·    All operating subsidiaries achieved collection efficiency of more
than 90% in the third quarter with 12 countries achieving more than 95%
reflecting continued normalisation of the business.

·    Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in eleven
countries - a positive trend as this is an indicator for OLP growth.

·    ASA International has been delighted to welcome onboard new local
CEOs for Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria

Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio

                   Clients (in thousands)           Delta                   Gross OLP (in USDm)                                Delta
 End of period    Sep-23     Jun-24     Sep-24     Sep-23-  Jun-24-  Sep-23        Jun-24  Sep-24                Sep-23-      Sep-23-     Jun-24-

Sep-24
Sep-24
Sep-24 USD
Sep-24 CC
Sep-24 USD
 Pakistan         616        618        631        3%       2%       69            76              83            20%          16%         9%
 India (total)    201        193        181        -10%     -7%      49            51              48            -3%          -2%         -7%
 Sri Lanka        44         42         43         -3%      3%       4             5                 5           18%          8%          5%
 The Philippines  332        352        356        7%       1%       52            58              61            17%          16%         6%
 Myanmar          106        119        122        15%      3%       20            20              26            32%          32%         30%
 Ghana            197        192        212        8%       10%      46            48              53            15%          56%         11%
 Nigeria          176        146        155        -12%     6%       18            9                 9           -50%         9%          0%
 Sierra Leone     41         37         39         -6%      4%       5             5                 6           16%          17%         9%
 Tanzania         236        258        264        12%      2%       59            68              69            18%          28%         1%
 Kenya            195        238        256        31%      8%       21            32              36            76%          53%         12%
 Uganda           111        131        138        24%      5%       12            15              16            35%          32%         10%
 Rwanda           20         21         22         12%      6%       4             4                 5           19%          32%         3%
 Zambia           24         27         29         23%      8%       3             3                 3           8%           36%         -3%
 Group            2,298      2,375      2,448      7%       3%       361           395     420                   16%          24%         6%

 

·    Total number of clients across all regions increased to 2.4m - 3%
higher than at the end of Q2 2024 and 7% higher than at the end of the same
period in 2023. This growth was primarily driven by increased number of
clients in Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya.

·    Gross OLP increased to USD 420m - 6% higher than at the end of Q2
2024 and 16% higher than at the end of the same period in 2023. This OLP
growth was predominantly driven by improved performance in Pakistan, the
Philippines, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda along with and currency
appreciation in Myanmar.

 

Loan Portfolio Quality

                   Gross OLP (in USDm)                                                             Non-overdue loans              PAR>30 less PAR>180
 End of period    Jul-24                Aug-24                      Sep-24                        Jul-24   Aug-24   Sep-24       Jul-24      Aug-24      Sep-24
 Pakistan                 77                       80                         83                  97.8%    98.6%    98.7%        0.3%        0.3%        0.5%
 India (total)            50                       49                         48                  93.3%    93.1%    92.8%        3.6%        3.4%        3.2%
 Sri Lanka                  5                        5                          5                 90.9%    91.0%    91.3%        3.7%        3.6%        3.5%
 The Philippines          58                       61                         61                  92.4%    91.8%    91.5%        2.8%        3.3%        4.1%
 Myanmar                  25                       25                         26                  93.9%    94.1%    94.3%        0.1%        0.1%        0.1%
 Ghana                    48                       51                         53                  99.3%    99.3%    99.6%        0.1%        0.1%        0.1%
 Nigeria                    8                        9                          9                 80.0%    80.4%    81.5%        4.2%        3.5%        2.9%
 Sierra Leone               5                        5                          6                 88.0%    86.9%    87.8%        4.8%        6.0%        6.6%
 Tanzania                 67                       68                         69                  98.2%    98.2%    98.1%        0.8%        0.7%        0.7%
 Kenya                    34                       35                         36                  99.6%    99.5%    99.5%        0.1%        0.1%        0.1%
 Uganda                   15                       15                         16                  99.0%    99.0%    99.0%        0.1%        0.1%        0.1%
 Rwanda                     4                        5                          5                 89.9%    89.7%    89.9%        3.4%        3.2%        3.1%
 Zambia                     3                        3                          3                 94.0%    93.8%    93.6%        2.2%        2.0%        2.0%
 Group                  399                      412                        420                   95.9%    96.0%    96.1%        1.3%        1.4%        1.5%

 

                   PAR>30                      PAR>90                      PAR>180
 End of period    Jul-24  Aug-24  Sep-24      Jul-24  Aug-24  Sep-24      Jul-24  Aug-24  Sep-24
 Pakistan         0.6%    0.5%    0.6%        0.4%    0.3%    0.3%        0.2%    0.2%    0.1%
 India (total)    4.4%    4.5%    4.6%        3.4%    3.7%    4.0%        0.8%    1.1%    1.4%
 Sri Lanka        5.5%    5.5%    5.4%        3.3%    3.5%    3.5%        1.9%    1.9%    1.9%
 The Philippines  5.3%    6.0%    6.4%        3.8%    4.0%    4.0%        2.5%    2.7%    2.3%
 Myanmar          0.3%    0.3%    0.2%        0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.2%    0.2%    0.2%
 Ghana            0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.1%    0.1%    0.1%        0.1%    0.1%    0.1%
 Nigeria          8.4%    8.0%    7.2%        6.8%    6.7%    5.9%        4.2%    4.6%    4.3%
 Sierra Leone     7.1%    8.4%    9.2%        4.2%    4.8%    5.4%        2.3%    2.5%    2.6%
 Tanzania         1.3%    1.3%    1.4%        1.0%    1.0%    1.1%        0.5%    0.6%    0.7%
 Kenya            0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.2%    0.2%    0.2%        0.1%    0.1%    0.1%
 Uganda           0.4%    0.3%    0.2%        0.4%    0.3%    0.2%        0.3%    0.3%    0.2%
 Rwanda           6.4%    6.3%    6.3%        5.0%    5.0%    4.9%        3.0%    3.0%    3.2%
 Zambia           3.3%    3.2%    3.3%        2.2%    2.5%    2.7%        1.1%    1.2%    1.3%
 Group            2.2%    2.3%    2.3%        1.6%    1.7%    1.6%        0.8%    0.9%    0.8%

 

·    PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans
overdue for more than 365 days, slightly increased to 2.3% in September 2024,
primarily due to slightly lower portfolio quality in the Philippines.

·    Gross OLP in India decreased to USD 48m - on-book decreasing from USD
3.9m at the end of June 2024 to USD 3.2m at the end of September 2024 and
off-book decreasing from USD 47m at the end of June 2024 to USD 44m at the end
of September 2024. The on-book portfolio decreased as the Group continues its
strategy of shrinking its on-book portfolio. The decrease in off-book
portfolio was primarily due to reduced activity levels from BC partners.

 

Collection Efficiency

                  Apr-24  May-24  Jun-24  Jul-24  Aug-24  Sep-24
 Pakistan         99%     99%     98%     98%     99%     99%
 India (total)    99%     98%     97%     97%     96%     100%
 Sri Lanka        95%     95%     95%     95%     96%     96%
 The Philippines  99%     98%     98%     98%     97%     97%
 Myanmar          100%    100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Ghana            100%    100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Nigeria          93%     94%     94%     96%     96%     97%
 Sierra Leone     97%     96%     96%     93%     92%     93%
 Tanzania         99%     99%     99%     99%     99%     99%
 Kenya            100%    100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Uganda           100%    100%    100%    100%    100%    100%
 Rwanda           95%     96%     97%     97%     97%     97%
 Zambia           98%     98%     98%     98%     98%     98%

 

 

·    Collection efficiency remained stable at high levels in most of our
operating countries during September 2024 compared to June 2024, as
normalisation of the business continues.

·    Collection efficiency in Myanmar and Nigeria remained stable, despite
the challenging macroeconomic conditions in these two countries.

·    Collection efficiency in Sierra Leone slightly reduced to 93% during
September 2024, primarily due to high inflation and loss of staff.

 

Disbursements vs Collections of Loans

                  Apr-24  May-24  Jun-24  Jul-24  Aug-24  Sep-24
 Pakistan         121%    87%     97%     88%     94%     99%
 India (total)    128%    100%    51%     60%     52%     41%
 Sri Lanka        79%     99%     87%     106%    106%    100%
 The Philippines  108%    104%    102%    99%     107%    104%
 Myanmar          92%     117%    118%    115%    123%    120%
 Ghana            106%    132%    129%    112%    122%    118%
 Nigeria          94%     113%    120%    108%    107%    118%
 Sierra Leone     101%    110%    85%     90%     116%    133%
 Tanzania         110%    107%    118%    102%    109%    109%
 Kenya            119%    114%    101%    113%    112%    110%
 Uganda           107%    111%    102%    103%    110%    111%
 Rwanda           119%    118%    122%    112%    108%    108%
 Zambia           104%    109%    122%    119%    103%    107%

( )

( )

·    Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in eleven
countries, which is a positive trend as this is an indicator for OLP growth.

·    Percentage in Pakistan in September 2024 improved due to the benefit
of the full implementation of the Core Banking System.

·    Decreased percentages in India in August and September 2024 were due
to ongoing challenges in business.

Notes

(1) Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local currency results to
USD with the exchange rate from the end of September 2023.

(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 1.0% of the Gross OLP as at 30 September 2024.

(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.

(4) 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%.

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

(6) 'ASA International', the 'Company', the 'Group' all refer to ASA
International Group plc and its subsidiaries.

Contact Details

ASA International Group plc

Investor Relations

Jonathan Berger

ir@asa-international.com (mailto:ir@asa-international.com)

About ASA International Group plc

ASA International Group plc (LSE: ASAI) 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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