REG - ASA Intnl. Grp PLC - September 2021 business update

ASA InternationalAnnouncement

19/10/2021 07:05

RNS Number : 4319P
  
ASA International Group PLC
  
19 October 2021
  
 

Press release 
 
ASA International Group plc September 2021 business update 
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 19 October 2021 - 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 30 September 2021.
·    Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 109m of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents across the Group.
·    The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled approximately USD 162m.
·    With the exception of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, all other operating companies achieved collection efficiency of more than 95%.
·    India collections improved to 64% as markets recover 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 96% from 89% in August. 
·    Sri Lanka operations were closed for the month due to the imposition of nationwide lockdowns from 20 August to 29 September.
·    Low level of collections in Myanmar due to the extension of a stay-at-home policy mandated by the government from 17 July to 24 September, mainly caused by a sharp increase of Covid-19 infections.
·    Uganda collections improved to 89% with fewer local lockdowns and travel restrictions across the country.
·    Portfolio quality remained challenging, particularly in India, with benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, improving to 13.8% from 15.3% in August 2021, and PAR>90 improving to 10.2% from 11.3% in August 2021.
·    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 5.6% in August to 5.2% in September.
·    The Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India, the Philippines and Myanmar, collectively have been able to reduce PAR>30 to 2.6%.
·    Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 6 countries with much lower percentages seen in India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, due to the ongoing disruptions to our clients' business activities resulting from the high ongoing infection rates, which caused, amongst others, additional lockdowns and other Covid-19 related restrictions.
·    The number of clients remained around 2.5m, while Gross OLP decreased to USD 437m (1% lower than in August 2021 and 3% higher than in September 2020).
·    The moratoriums granted in September amounted to USD 45.4m, 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 430 of over 12,800 staff, with two deaths. Confirmed infections amongst 2.5m clients increased from 16,644 at the end of August 2021 to 18,218 as at 30 September 2021, resulting in 637 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Of the 637 client deaths across the Group, 444 are from Myanmar, with 37 of those deaths occurring in September 2021. 
Funding
·    Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at approximately USD 109m.
·    The Company secured approximately USD 5m of new loans from local and international lenders in September 2021. 
·    The majority of the Company's USD 162m 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 September 2021(1, 2) 




Countries


Jan/21


Feb/21


Mar/21


Apr/21


May/21


Jun/21


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21




India


82%


84%


87%


87%


67%


55%


58%


60%


64%




Pakistan


98%


99%


99%


99%


99%


99%


99%


99%


99%




Sri Lanka


97%


90%


91%


93%


57%


76%(3)


76%


80%(3)


Nil(3)




The Philippines


75%


80%


85%


84%


89%


99%


100%


99%


96%




Myanmar


89%


78%


59%


55%


67%


70%


64%(4)


Nil(5)


55%(6)




Ghana


99%


100%


100%


100%


99%


99%


99%


99%


99%




Nigeria


95%


97%


96%


95%


94%


96%


96%


96%


95%




Sierra Leone


95%


89%


96%


93%


92%


94%


93%


92%


91%




Kenya


97%


98%


100%


100%


99%


99%


99%


99%


100%




Uganda


87%


93%


99%


100%


100%


95%


83%


84%


89%




Tanzania


99%


100%


100%


100%


100%


100%


100%


100%


100%




Rwanda


93%


91%


96%


95%


96%


96%


96%


94%


96%




Zambia


100%


100%


100%


100%


99%


100%


100%


99%


100%




(1) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients divided by expected 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 expected 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 1-30 September is nil due to the lockdowns in Sri Lanka. Only the collection efficiency for 16-30 June 2021 and 1-19 August 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) Collection for September 2021 is only from clients who opted to repay instalments despite 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 64% 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 96% from 89% in August. 
·    No collections in Sri Lanka due to the nation-wide lockdown from 20 August to 29 September.
·    Low level of collections in Myanmar due to a stay-at-home policy announced by the government, which was mainly caused by a sharp increase of Covid-19 infections.
·    In Uganda collections improved to 89% with fewer local lockdowns and travel restrictions across the country.
 
Loan portfolio quality up to and including September 2021(7, 8, 9)




 


 Gross OLP (in USDm) 


 


 Non-overdue loans 


 


 PAR>30 less PAR>180 




 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21




India (total)


      144 


      140 


      132 


 


56.6%


55.4%


56.9%


 


14.6%


14.6%


13.9%




Pakistan


        74 


        74 


        74 


 


98.4%


98.4%


98.5%


 


0.3%


0.3%


0.3%




Sri Lanka


          8 


          8 


          8 


 


68.7%


63.5%


79.4%


 


8.3%


8.2%


8.8%




Philippines


        52 


        55 


        54 


 


77.3%


76.3%


76.4%


 


4.2%


1.9%


2.2%




Myanmar


        24 


        23 


        20 


 


50.4%


98.8%


89.8%


 


24.2%


0.6%


0.3%




Ghana


        43 


        44 


        46 


 


98.9%


98.8%


99.1%


 


0.3%


0.3%


0.3%




Nigeria


        33 


        34 


        35 


 


88.2%


88.6%


89.9%


 


3.0%


3.0%


3.0%




Sierra Leone


          6 


          7 


          7 


 


81.9%


81.1%


80.2%


 


2.5%


2.6%


2.7%




Kenya


        18 


        18 


        18 


 


88.5%


90.1%


90.8%


 


0.5%


0.5%


0.5%




Uganda


          8 


          8 


          9 


 


62.6%


70.9%


79.6%


 


5.7%


8.7%


7.2%




Tanzania


        28 


        28 


        29 


 


98.0%


98.0%


98.1%


 


0.4%


0.3%


0.3%




Rwanda


          3 


          3 


          3 


 


87.0%


85.8%


88.7%


 


3.2%


2.9%


2.9%




Zambia


          1 


          1 


          2 


 


98.0%


98.9%


97.6%


 


0.5%


0.5%


0.5%




Group


      442 


      442 


      437 


 


77.0%


79.6%


80.8%


 


7.2%


5.6%


5.2%




 




 


 PAR>30 


 


 PAR>90 


 


 PAR>180 


 




 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 




India (total)


34.2%


35.9%


33.1%


 


22.8%


24.8%


23.2%


 


19.6%


21.3%


19.2%


 




Pakistan


1.2%


1.0%


0.8%


 


1.1%


0.8%


0.7%


 


0.9%


0.7%


0.5%


 




Sri Lanka


10.8%


10.8%


11.6%


 


5.1%


5.9%


7.0%


 


2.5%


2.6%


2.8%


 




Philippines


19.5%


19.1%


18.9%


 


18.8%


18.1%


17.3%


 


15.4%


17.2%


16.7%


 




Myanmar


24.5%


1.0%


1.0%


 


0.6%


0.9%


0.9%


 


0.3%


0.3%


0.7%


 




Ghana


0.4%


0.4%


0.3%


 


0.2%


0.2%


0.2%


 


0.1%


0.1%


0.0%


 




Nigeria


5.1%


5.0%


4.6%


 


3.6%


3.6%


3.2%


 


2.1%


2.0%


1.6%


 




Sierra Leone


4.3%


4.4%


4.4%


 


3.2%


3.0%


2.8%


 


1.8%


1.8%


1.8%


 




Kenya


9.5%


6.4%


3.1%


 


9.3%


6.2%


2.8%


 


9.0%


6.0%


2.6%


 




Uganda


18.6%


20.1%


16.3%


 


13.0%


11.6%


9.9%


 


12.9%


11.5%


9.1%


 




Tanzania


1.6%


1.1%


0.8%


 


1.4%


0.9%


0.7%


 


1.3%


0.8%


0.5%


 




Rwanda


9.1%


8.7%


8.1%


 


7.7%


7.4%


6.5%


 


5.9%


5.8%


5.2%


 




Zambia


0.8%


1.1%


0.7%


 


0.6%


1.0%


0.4%


 


0.3%


0.6%


0.2%


 




Group


16.5%


15.3%


13.8%


 


11.0%


11.3%


10.2%


 


9.3%


9.8%


8.6%


 




 
(7)  Gross loan portfolio 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 outstanding loan portfolio including off-book loans.
(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.




·    PAR>30 for the Group improved to 13.8%, primarily due to the marginal improvements in India, Philippines, Kenya and Tanzania as well as moratoriums granted in India and Myanmar.
·    Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD 35.2m is capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD 2.1m has no credit exposure.
Disbursements vs collections of loans until 30 September 2021(10)




Countries


Jan/21


Feb/21


Mar/21


Apr/21


May/21


Jun/21


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21




India


90%


104%


131%


71%


3%


5%


25%


36%


52%




Pakistan


97%


99%


99%


102%


89%(11)


102%


98%


103%


100%




Sri Lanka


95%


116%


92%


43%


17%


0%


56%


87%


Nil(13)




The Philippines


113%


101%


96%


88%


91%


88%


87%


91%


89%




Myanmar


144%


55%


71%


30%


76%


87%


64%


Nil(12)


37%




Ghana


94%


112%


118%


99%


91%(11)


99%


85%


112%


120%




Nigeria


68%


105%


109%


109%


108%


109%


103%


104%


110%




Sierra Leone


89%


109%


110%


95%


101%


118%


119%


133%


124%




Kenya


97%


113%


107%


100%


100%


93%


107%


97%


100%




Uganda


46%


99%


99%


105%


99%


53%


60%


93%


109%




Tanzania


78%


97%


102%


107%


109%


96%


86%


91%


100%




Rwanda


60%


73%


86%


95%


106%


81%


61%


95%


102%




Zambia


137%


140%


115%


107%


142%


170%


103%


102%


102%




(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.
 


 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



·    With the business environment continuing to gradually improve in many countries, disbursements of new loans continued to stabilise or increase as a percentage of weekly collections, with the main exception of Myanmar and Sri Lanka, primarily due to the nationwide lockdowns.
 
Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 30 September 2021




 


 Clients (in thousands) 


 Delta 


 Gross OLP (in USDm)


 Delta 




Countries


Sep/20


Aug/21


Sep/21


Sep/20-Sep/21


Aug/21-Sep/21


Sep/20


Aug/21


Sep/21


Sep/20-Sep/21 USD


Sep/20-Sep/21 CC (14)


Aug/21-Sep/21 USD




India


709


686


663


-6%


-3%


169


140


132


-22%


-21%


-5%




Pakistan


400


486


495


24%


2%


54


74


74


37%


41%


0%




Sri Lanka


57


53


53


-7%


-1%


9


8


8


-14%


-7%


-3%




The Philippines


262


341


345


32%


1%


47


55


54


14%


20%


-2%




Myanmar


134


118


116


-13%


-1%


32


23


20


-39%


-12%


-16%




Ghana


145


151


150


3%


-1%


40


44


46


16%


21%


6%




Nigeria


222


259


253


14%


-3%


26


34


35


35%


44%


3%




Sierra Leone


32


42


43


34%


4%


4


7


7


76%


89%


4%




Kenya


81


118


121


49%


3%


13


18


18


47%


50%


3%




Uganda


83


83


84


1%


1%


8


8


9


14%


10%


7%




Tanzania


104


155


161


54%


4%


19


28


29


53%


52%


4%




Rwanda


19


17


17


-8%


0%


3


3


3


14%


19%


5%




Zambia


4


11


12


169%


6%


0.4


1


2


281%


219%


37%




Total


2,252


2,521


2,513


12%


-0.3%


424


442


437


3%


8%


-1%




 
(14) Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local currency results to USD with the exchange rate from the beginning of the period.
·    With disbursements as percentage of collections stabilising or exceeding 100% in many countries, but significantly below 100% in India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, Gross OLP reduced to USD 437m in September 2021 compared to the previous month. 
 
Selected moratoriums(15) on loan repayments until 30 September 2021




 


 Clients under moratorium (in thousands) 


 




Countries


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


As % of Total Clients




India


230


230


205


31%




Pakistan


0


0


0


0%




Sri Lanka


6


7


3


6%




The Philippines


0


0


0


0%




Myanmar


0


56


58


50%




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


236


293


266


11%




 




 


 Moratorium amounts (USD thousands) 


 


 




Countries


Jul/21


Aug/21


Sep/21


 September moratoriums as % of OLP 


 As % of Total Moratoriums 




India


46,547


46,547


44,204


33%


97%




Pakistan


0


0


0


0%


0%




Sri Lanka


96


86


29


0.4%


0.1%




The Philippines


0


0


0


0%


0%




Myanmar


0


1,262


1,187


6%


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


46,643


47,895


45,420


10%


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 33% of clients in India, who accepted to benefit from the one-time debt restructuring scheme established by the RBI. See RBI Covid-19 Restructuring Guidelines. 
·    Moratoriums granted in Sri Lanka and Myanmar were due to disruption in operations following national lockdowns. 
·    The moratorium amount across the Group was USD 45.4m, which represents 10% of the Group's Gross OLP. 
Please note that, while the Company's operational performance appears to gradually normalize in most countries except for India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Uganda, the risk of additional challenges to our operations should not be underestimated, as we have recently seen in for instance India and Myanmar, 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 as have been observed in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, Myanmar and India, 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
 
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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