REG - ASA Intnl. Grp PLC - Quarterly business update
18/04/2023 07:00
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RNS Number : 5090W ASA International Group PLC 18 April 2023
ASA International Group plc March 2023 quarterly business update
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 18 April 2023 - 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 31 March 2023 compared to 31 December 2022.
· All operating subsidiaries achieved collection efficiency of more
than 90% with 10 countries achieving more than 95% with the exception of India
and Nigeria.
· The decrease of collection efficiency in Nigeria was largely due to
cash shortages following the Central Bank voiding old banknotes as legal
tender, which resulted in some clients being unable to pay their instalments
on time as well as the operating environment during the elections.
· India collections slightly decreased from 87% in December 2022 to 86%
in March 2023. Collection efficiency, including regular and overdue
collections as well as advance payments, as a percentage of the regular,
realisable collections, including advance payments, decreased from 118% in
December 2022 to 109% in March 2023.
· PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans
overdue more than 365 days, improved to 4.5% in March 2023 from 5.9% in
December 2022, primarily due to write-offs of long overdue loans in India,
Myanmar and Nigeria.
· The PAR>30 for the Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India
and Myanmar increased to 2.6% in March 2023 from 1.9% in December 2022,
largely due to the cash shortages in Nigeria affecting the repayment ability
of our clients.
· Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180 days
and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30 improved from 4.1%
in December to 2.6% in March.
· Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 9
countries. The lower percentage in Nigeria is impacted by the cash shortages
which subsequently reduced the ability of our staff to perform daily
collections and disbursements.
· The Group's Gross OLP decreased to USD 335 million (9% lower than in
December 2022 and 19% lower than in March 2022), primarily due to substantial
currency devaluation in Ghana and Pakistan.
· There were no moratoriums granted to clients from January 2023 to
March 2023.
Collection efficiency until 31 March 2023((1))
Countries Oct/22 Nov/22 Dec/22 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23
Pakistan 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99%
India 83% 85% 87% 83% 84% 86%
Sri Lanka 91% 92% 93% 93% 94% 95%
The Philippines 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 99%
Myanmar 92%((2)) 94% 97% 97% 98% 100%
Ghana 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Nigeria 96% 96% 94% 94% 84% 78%
Sierra Leone 93% 92% 93% 93% 94% 95%
Tanzania 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Kenya 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Uganda 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100%
Rwanda 97% 97% 97% 97% 96% 96%
Zambia 98% 97% 97% 97% 97% 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%.
((2)) Collections were impacted by the ongoing lockdowns and civil unrest in
some areas of our operations.
· Collection efficiency increased or remained broadly stable in most of
our operating countries.
· Adjusted collection efficiency in India, including regular and
overdue collections as well as advance payments, as a percentage of the
regular, realisable collections, including advance payments decreased to 109%.
The substantial difference of this adjusted collection efficiency metric is
related 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.
· Although market conditions in both Myanmar and Sri Lanka remained
challenging, collection efficiency improved in both markets.
· The decrease of collection efficiency in Nigeria was due to cash
shortages following the Central Bank as old banknotes were no longer accepted
as legal tender as of 10 February 2023.. Nigeria's Supreme Court on 3 March
2023, ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend the use of these old
banknotes until 31 December 2023.
Loan portfolio quality up to and including March 2023((3, 4, 5))
Gross OLP (in USDm) Non-overdue loans PAR>30 less PAR>180
Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23
Pakistan 66 69 64 99.0% 99.1% 99.2% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5%
India (total) 45 45 44 56.4% 58.9% 68.5% 16.0% 10.4% 6.4%
Sri Lanka 4 4 5 88.1% 89.0% 89.6% 5.0% 4.5% 3.7%
Philippines 51 51 52 97.7% 97.6% 97.4% 0.8% 1.0% 1.2%
Myanmar 18 18 18 80.5% 81.7% 88.4% 2.4% 1.8% 1.3%
Ghana 33 32 35 99.8% 99.8% 99.8% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Nigeria 34 29 24 84.8% 63.5% 59.5% 5.3% 7.6% 15.7%
Sierra Leone 4 4 4 85.1% 85.1% 85.5% 8.3% 7.8% 6.5%
Tanzania 52 52 53 99.4% 99.3% 99.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4%
Kenya 17 18 18 99.0% 99.1% 99.1% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2%
Uganda 11 11 11 98.9% 99.1% 99.2% 0.7% 0.5% 0.4%
Rwanda 4 4 4 92.7% 92.0% 92.0% 3.1% 3.7% 4.7%
Zambia 3 3 3 93.0% 92.8% 93.0% 2.7% 2.7% 2.6%
Group 341 340 335 90.5% 89.2% 91.0% 3.3% 2.7% 2.6%
PAR>30 PAR>90 PAR>180
Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23
Pakistan 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
India (total) 26.6% 25.2% 15.9% 22.9% 22.7% 14.6% 10.6% 14.8% 9.5%
Sri Lanka 8.3% 7.8% 6.8% 5.9% 5.6% 5.0% 3.4% 3.3% 3.1%
Philippines 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1.2% 1.2% 1.1% 0.9% 0.7% 0.6%
Myanmar 17.8% 12.8% 6.5% 17.6% 12.7% 6.3% 15.4% 11.0% 5.2%
Ghana 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0%
Nigeria 8.9% 11.6% 16.5% 6.1% 6.9% 4.9% 3.6% 4.0% 0.8%
Sierra Leone 12.0% 12.4% 11.7% 8.7% 8.9% 9.6% 3.7% 4.6% 5.2%
Tanzania 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Kenya 0.8% 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3%
Uganda 0.8% 0.7% 0.6% 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Rwanda 5.0% 5.9% 7.1% 3.4% 3.7% 5.0% 2.0% 2.1% 2.5%
Zambia 5.2% 5.2% 5.1% 4.0% 4.1% 4.0% 2.6% 2.5% 2.5%
Group 6.2% 5.9% 4.5% 5.1% 4.9% 3.2% 2.9% 3.2% 1.9%
( )
((3)) Gross OLP includes the off-book BC and DA model.
((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 2.5% 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.
· Gross OLP in India slightly reduced to USD 44 million (2% lower than
in December 2022 and 57% lower than in March 2022) as the disbursement as
percentage of collections increased.
· PAR>30 for the Group decreased from 5.9% in December 2022 to 4.5%
in March 2023, primarily due to write-offs of long overdue loans in India,
Myanmar and Nigeria.
· Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD 24.9m is
capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD 1.1 million has no
credit exposure.
Disbursements vs collections of loans until 31 March 2023((6))
Countries Oct/22 Nov/22 Dec/22 Jan/23 Feb/23 Mar/23
Pakistan 125% 120% 86% 101% 101% 107%
India 10% 22% 26% 52% 72% 87%
Sri Lanka 147% 135% 89% 81% 104% 120%
The Philippines 103% 104% 106% 100% 104% 104%
Myanmar 102% 115% 87% 124% 126% 91%
Ghana 122% 120% 131% 89% 99% 104%
Nigeria 107% 109% 82% 50% 34% 58%
Sierra Leone 128% 125% 94% 67% 105% 118%
Tanzania 114% 117% 125% 104% 103% 106%
Kenya 115% 99% 41% 121% 112% 109%
Uganda 112% 112% 93% 89% 107% 101%
Rwanda 113% 107% 104% 78% 85% 93%
Zambia 109% 109% 95% 102% 118% 115%
((6)) 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 9
countries. The lower percentage in Nigeria is impacted by the cash shortages
which subsequently reduced the ability of our staff to perform daily
collections and disbursements.
Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 31 March 2023
Clients (in thousands) Delta Gross OLP (in USDm) Delta
Countries Mar/22 Feb/23 Mar/23 Mar/22-Mar/23 Feb/23-Mar/23 Mar/22 Feb/23 Mar/23 Mar/22-Mar/23 USD Mar/22-Mar/23 CC ((7)) Feb/23-Mar/23 USD
Pakistan 541 601 601 11% 0% 83 69 64 -23% 19% -8%
India 480 260 248 -48% -4% 103 45 44 -57% -53% -3%
Sri Lanka 52 45 45 -14% 2% 6 4 5 -23% -14% 14%
The Philippines 299 323 326 9% 1% 47 51 52 11% 17% 3%
Myanmar 112 102 98 -13% -4% 21 18 18 -15% 0% -3%
Ghana 161 181 181 13% 0% 41 32 35 -15% 32% 11%
Nigeria 241 191 174 -28% -9% 37 29 24 -33% -26% -15%
Sierra Leone 42 36 36 -14% -2% 7 4 4 -37% 5% 4%
Tanzania 190 221 221 17% 0% 37 52 53 42% 43% 2%
Kenya 123 152 159 29% 4% 18 18 18 -1% 14% -1%
Uganda 95 110 109 15% -1% 11 11 11 8% 14% -1%
Rwanda 18 20 20 10% -3% 3 4 4 14% 24% -4%
Zambia 16 21 21 31% 1% 2 3 3 27% 50% -3%
Total 2,370 2,264 2,240 -5% -1% 416 340 335 -19% -1% -2%
( )
((7)) 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 decreased to USD 335 million (9% lower than in
December 2022 and 19% lower than in March 2022), primarily due to substantial
currency devaluation in Ghana and Pakistan.
Key events in March and April 2023
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced on 13 March 2023 that it was extending
the deadline to swap out old bank notes (of NGN 200, NGN 500 and NGN 1,000)
for redesigned notes until 31 December 2023, following the cash shortage
crisis that occurred after their initial deadline of 10 February 2023 passed.
Both old notes and the redesigned notes will be available as legal tender for
use in payment transactions until the end of 2023.
---
Enquiries:
ASA International Group plc
Investor
Relations
Mischa
Assink
ir@asa-international.com
(mailto:@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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