Iute Group reports unaudited results for 9M/2023

Iute Group reports that its performing loans portfolio and revenue continued to grow in the 9 months of 2023. The company has further shared the following financial and operational updates:

STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Number of active customers declined to 282 thousand (31 Dec. 2022: 293 thousand) but the revenue per customer (LTM) increased to €377 compared to €346 in the previous period.
  • Total number of customers increased by 8.8% to 1 million (31 Dec. 2022: 928 thousand).
  • Group consolidated balance sheet up 12.8% to €363.7 million and equity up 24.5% to €69.9 million as of 30 Sep. 2023.
  • Increasing use of MyIute app – 727 thousand downloads as of 30 Sep. 2023 (31 Dec. 2022: 477 thousand).
  • Launch of e-money institution IutePay in Albania as a major milestone in the evolution of Wallet business.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

  • Loan payouts increased by 10.6% to €213.1 million (9M/2022: €192.7 million).
  • Number of loans signed down to 250 thousand (9M/2022: 264 thousand).
  • Gross loan portfolio up 12.6% to €242.7 million (31 Dec. 2022: €215.5 million), of which the principal amount of loans increased by 12.6% to €223.0 million (31 Dec. 2022: €198.1 million).
  • Repayment discipline (Customer Performance Index, CPI30) down to 87.3% (9M/2022: 90.5%).
  • Net loan portfolio up 14.1% to €221.2 million (31 Dec. 2022: €193.9 million).
  • 72 cardless ATMs operational (31 Dec. 2022: 71 ATMs).

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

  • Interest and commission fee income up 21.4% to €68.8 million (9M/2022: €56.7 million) driven by Iute Non-Bank loan portfolio. Interest income from Energbank portfolio remained at the prior-year level considering consolidation as of Feb. 2022.
  • Net interest and commission fee income up 14.0% to €48.1 million (9M/2022: €42.2 million) driven by Iute Non-Bank loan portfolio.
  • Total revenue up 22.1% to €78.9 million (9M/2022: €64.6 million).
  • Cost to revenue ratio at 41.7% (9M/2022: 44.5%).
  • Adjusted cost to revenue ratio at 37.8%.
  • EBITDA adjusted for FX and integration expenses related to Energbank up 33.6% to €33.8 million (9M/2022: €25.3 million).
  • Net profit at €9.3 million compared to €7.4 million adjusted for one-off gains related to the acquisition of Energbank in the prior-year period.
  • Strong capitalization and profitability – Eurobond covenants exceeded.

“Iute Group had another successful quarter thanks to its customers and the Iute teams in the Balkans and Estonia. As management, we are very proud of the strong results achieved, given the current developments and trends on the capital markets, monetary policies, and overall macroeconomic and geopolitical situation. However, it is not only the external environment that determines success or struggle. In other words, we have to take a number of factors into account when making decisions in order to continue to grow profitably. Faced with major challenges, we have resolved at the beginning of this year to focus on quality rather than quantity: Fewer is not only more but also better.

On the one hand, we saw a decline in the absolute number of performing customers with whom we maintain active and profitable business relationships for the first time. Historically, the performing customer pool (PCP) has always grown, but not this year, in which the PCP shrank by 11 thousand people or 3.7%. Moreover, there has been a decline in customers’ repayment discipline. Accordingly, the CPI30 fell from 90.5% to 87.3%. This means that during the period €873 thousand out of every repayable million EUR were repaid on time or with a maximum delay of 30 days, whereas a year ago the number was €905 thousand out of every million. To cut a long story short: At the end of the nine-month period, we have fewer customers who are even worse at repaying their loans.

In this context, the number of loan applications also decreased slightly by 2% in Q3. More importantly, however, we tightened the loan approval criteria. As a result, the approval rate in Q3 fell to about 60%, compared to over 66% in the past. Ultimately, a decline in the performing customer pool in conjunction with an increase in late repayments was intensified by slightly lower loan demand and a significantly lower approval rate.

On the positive note, the performing loans portfolio and revenue continued to grow, as we had planned – with fewer but better customers. It is clearly paying off that we take larger exposure per performing customer: Revenues continued to increase. Understanding who these fewer but better customers are requires data science, effort, and investments. So, the biggest challenge is to improve quality. And although we are profitable, we have not yet reached our full potential to reduce the cost-to-income ratio to below 40%, which is becoming increasingly important given the rising cost of capital and overall higher risk in the consumer lending business. The same applies to a CPI30 of over 90 points, which is our Group benchmark for “optimal” in consumer lending. Part of risk reduction is also the Iute Group’s increased involvement in legislative initiatives. Which means that not only we are increasingly adapting to ever-changing requirements, but in turn, we are also being consulted more and more frequently by the regulatory authorities in various countries on our understanding of the role of microfinance, digitalization of finance, responsible lending, and compliance. Tangible examples include the ongoing Wallet development and the Energbank turnaround, which place additional strain on the Group’s compliance and risk procedures in view of the primacy of profitability.

We are sticking to our annual targets. The forecast assets have already been exceeded and the Group’s revenue will surpass the €100 million mark. Somewhat disappointingly, the Group’s net profit may fall short of the €12 million net profit target under a sudden change in corporate income tax laws in Macedonia and the imposition of a one-time solidarity tax of €1.3 million,” said Tarmo Sild, CEO of Iute Group.

The full unaudited report for 9M/2023 is available under iutecredit.com/reports/.

About IuteCredit Group

IuteCredit – established in 2008 – is a leading European personal finance company. The Group is specialized in consumer credits via its 100% subsidiaries using equity and loan capital. IuteCredit serves customers currently in Moldova, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. IuteCredit’s loan products are unsecured consumer loans with maturities between 1 month and 48 months and car-secured loans with maturities up to 72 months. The mission of IuteCredit is to create an extraordinary experience in personal finance by exceeding customers’ expectations.

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