Profitable growth and strong progress in online strategy

Amsterdam/New Delhi, 6 September 2018: Home Credit B.V. (‘HCBV’ or ‘the Group’), the Netherlands-based holding company for Home Credit’s leading multi-channel consumer finance operations in CEE, Asia and the US, announces its consolidated financial results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2018 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), incorporating IFRS 9 which represents a change to the way financial instruments are measured and classified in the financial statements.

“The second quarter saw a strong recovery in profits as we moved on from the challenges of the market restructuring in China at the start of the year and as our businesses in other countries continued to prosper.

There was a marked improvement in China where, as expected, the impact of the recent regulatory actions has moderated and the market is now better placed to serve the interests of consumers and regulated lenders. We did well in this context and in the second quarter generated a net profit of EUR 46 million in China.

Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam maintained their positive momentum, with all three businesses contributing strongly. Our growth markets of Indonesia and the Philippines have not only grown but also improved their performance delivering the first two consecutive quarters of profitability. India has successfully continued to build scale, expanding its network and reaching more customers.

We have continued to cement leadership positions across our markets, supported by significant investment in disruptive technologies. Our ability to deploy AI, advanced modeling and chatbots as well as our development of mobile application-based services and end-to-end paperless processes has allowed us to attract more customers, serve them better and gain market share.

Finally, I would like to welcome Ondrej Frydrych to his new role as Group CEO. In addition to his experience running one of our core businesses, he brings a real depth of understanding of technology and the online environment that will serve us well as we increasingly develop our digital presence. I have every confidence that together we will continue to drive profitable growth across the business in the second half of the year and beyond.”

Jiri Smejc, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, Home Credit B.V.

“After the first quarter, which was affected by the macro environment in China, the Group returned to profit in the second quarter. This Group net profit of EUR 71 million in the second quarter resulted in net profit of EUR 40 million for the whole six-month period. Throughout the half we have continued to successfully execute on our online strategy, including building strong B2B partnerships to reach new customers in new ways. A particular highlight has been our digital offering where, on average, our mobile app is used by close to 12 million customers per month, more than three times the number just a year ago. Digital is an important platform for us as it engenders loyalty and attracts new customers. We intend to develop it further in the months ahead as we build on our key strengths to take the business forward.”

Ondrej Frydrych, Group CEO, Home Credit Group

GROUP OVERVIEW

The Group delivered a solid set of financial results for the first half of the year, with a strong performance in the second quarter driving profitability. The significant improvement from the first quarter, which returned the Group to profit in the second quarter, resulted in first-half net income of EUR 40 million. At the same time, the quality of the Group’s loan portfolio substantially improved from the first quarter with the cost of risk ratio dropping from 14.9% in the first quarter to 10.6% in the second quarter. New loan volumes increased 4.1% y-o-y to EUR 10.0 billion in the first half.

Through further diversification of our product offering and further good progress in our multichannel distribution strategy, we have continued to gain market share, growing our customer base to 29.0 million active customers globally (compared to 26.5 million a year ago), reconfirming our leadership position in key markets. The overall number of customers the Group has served exceeded 106 million.

• MATURE OPERATIONS

Home Credit’s geographical diversification is a key strength for the Group. The Group’s mature markets of Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam continue to have positive momentum which has contributed to the overall profitability of the Group.

In Russia, new loan volumes grew 23.6% y-o- y (on a local currency basis) on the strength of Home Credit & Finance Bank’s leading position in POS and on a 43% y-o-y hike in credit cards’ new volumes. Non-performing loans comprised just 3.9% of total gross loans, down from 6.2%, a significant improvement y-o-y.

In Kazakhstan, Home Credit Bank delivered further outperformance, with 64% growth y-o-y in new POS loan volumes and an increase in its deposit base of 87% y-o-y (both on a local currency basis).

Vietnam also continued to deliver strongly, with 24% y-o-y growth in new loan volumes (on a local currency basis) driven predominantly by the cooperation with major manufacturers of mopeds and motorbikes.

In our home market, the Czech Republic, excellent risk costs have been achieved as a result of new underwriting scorecards which are based on enhanced usage of external data. This, combined with an effective collection process, delivered a strong, profitable performance.

• CHINA

In China, the Group’s subsidiary achieved a notable improvement in risk costs in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter, strengthening to 13.9% from 21.3%, as the impact of regulatory changes in the consumer credit market moderated, in line with our expectations. The business was largely able to contain the negative impact of these market changes on profitability to the first quarter, with the China operation generating a net profit of EUR 46 million in the second quarter.

The subsidiary also successfully placed its first financial bond of RMB 1.5bn in the second quarter. Its oversubscription further demonstrated investors’ confidence in the strength and scale of Home Credit’s business in China.

• GROWTH MARKETS

The Group delivered further progress in its growth markets. The three businesses – Indonesia, the Philippines and India – have continued to grow in scale and gain market share.

Home Credit remains the market leader in the Philippines, with a unique and unmatched value proposition which has already attracted three million customers. In the first six months of 2018, the Philippines’ subsidiary underwrote 123.4% more loans than in the same period a year ago (on a local currency basis) and was profitable in every month throughout the reporting period.

Similarly, our business in Indonesia recorded profit on a quarterly basis throughout the period and achieved over 50% market share in lending for consumer durables, providing access to its lending services to nearly 90% of the country’s urban population. New loan volumes increased 108.0% y-o-y over the period.

In India, newly underwritten loans rose 87.6% y-o-y while the number of active customers grew 40% y-o-y to almost three million. Since the subsidiary’s foundation, strong customer acquisition through the POS network drove the number of borrowers served to almost 7 million. These factors have solidified the position of the Group’s subsidiary as one of India’s leading non-banking financial companies with more than a fifth of the market in small loans for consumer durables.

POINT OF SALE NETWORK

Home Credit Group has continued to increase its distribution reach through a global network of 429,635 sales points at the end of June 2018 compared to 364,735 as at June 2017. The transformation into a fully paper-less underwriting process which has been completed in China and Indonesia enables the Group to offer excellent customer service and reduce costs. The Group is selectively introducing a model which is fully operated by partnering retailers’ employees, again optimizing costs. This distribution model accounts for 17% of the Group’s entire in-store presence. In our growth markets we have significantly expanded our network. In India, Home Credit’s POS network, mostly operated by retailers’ employees, has more than doubled compared to the same time last year, allowing the company to better serve its customers through a network of more than 27,000 outlets across 120 cities. In Indonesia, we added almost 8,700 distribution points and in the Philippines 1,700 points over the previous 12 months.

ONLINE DISTRIBUTION AND DIGITAL

Through the expansion of innovative new technologies, the Group is seeing greater loyalty and retention rates amongst the existing customer base as well as attracting new customers. In the first half of 2018, Home Credit Group focused on enhancing its online distribution capabilities resulting in, for example, a 127.7% y-o- y increase in online sales and a 74% increase from Q1 to Q2. Cross-selling of cash loans through the mobile app was the main online sales growth driver.

In June, our mobile app was used by nearly 12 million customers compared to 3.71 million a year ago. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and their equivalents in China and Russia attracted 9.98 million followers (74% growth Q1-to-Q2) and started complementing our offline distribution to generate leads.

In China, Home Credit has invested further in its advanced machine learning technology capabilities and became the first local consumer lender to employ voicebots and chatbots on a large scale, making an average of 50,000 calls a day. The use of these bots provides greater business efficiency while maintaining customer satisfaction.

Home Credit Russia has continued to develop its online capabilities with the share of active customers using online services reaching 56% and the share of online payments reaching 44% in the period. Home Credit Russia has also invested in improving the functionality of its mobile bank and “My Credit Application”; from Q2 2018, customers are able to make contactless payments through key payment platforms such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay. Also, Russia’s Home Credit was the first to leverage the country’s Unified Biometric System for remote identification of an applicant for a loan. This opens the possibility to provide consumers who opt for registration in this country-wide biometrical database any online lending product they qualify for.

At Air Bank in the Czech Republic, approximately 50% of its 637,087 customers bank solely bank through its mobile app, whether carrying out money transfers or taking a loan. A comprehensive rewards program, run in cooperation with retail partners, attracts many more each month. Also in the Czech Republic, Home Credit serves the country’s major e-shop, Mall.cz, with its seamless, one-click lending solution where customers’ data fields are pre-filled for a hassle-free customer experience.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Group posted net profit of EUR 40 million for the first six months of 2018 compared to EUR 133 million in the same period of 2017. In the second quarter of the current year the Group registered a strong recovery with a net profit of EUR 71 million. If reported on the previous IAS 39 standards, net profit would have been EUR 31 million higher. However, by adopting the IFRS-9 principles, the Group created an additional reserve, which boosted NPL coverage up to 131.7% and will be of benefit in forthcoming periods.

 

• New loan volume was EUR 10,031 million in the first half, up 4.1% y-o-y, with the strength of the Group’s businesses as a whole more than able to offset the effect of a 6% decline in China where new volumes were impacted by the introduction of an interest rate cap in December 2017 and a more selective approach to underwriting.

 

• The number of actively served customers increased to 29.0 million, up from 26.5 million in H1 2017. Compared to the end of 2017, the number of customers served in H1 2018 was however 3% lower, reflecting the tightening of underwriting criteria in China. In the first half of 2018 the Group has 106.1 million borrowers in its database.

 

• The net loan portfolio increased to EUR 16,439 million from EUR 15,452 million at the end of 2017.

 

• Loan portfolio quality substantially improved from quarter to quarter, with the cost of risk ratio falling to 10.6% in Q2 from 14.9% in Q1. This reflects the successful management of developments in China on retail lending and a significant improvement there in the default rate on newer loans.

 

• The NPL coverage ratio grew to a very conservative level of 131.7% (31 December 2017: 121.7%), particularly due to the adoption of IFRS 9.

 

• Operating income increased 38% year-on-year to EUR 1,934 million (H1 2017: EUR 1,398 million).

 

• General and administrative and other operating expenses amounted to EUR 878 million (H1 2017: EUR 744 million), an 18% increase y-o-y, predominantly reflecting the continued build-up of the Group’s investment-stage operations. The cost-to-income ratio has improved to 45.4% from 53.2% a year ago. The improvement was driven predominantly by an increase of net interest income.

 

• HCBV remains adequately capitalised with a total equity of EUR 1,843 million and an equity-to-asset ratio of 8.5%.

 

• HCBV’s multi-channel network consisted of 429,635 distribution points globally as of 30 June 2018, up 17.8% y-o-y, with the bulk of the expansion in the three Asian growth markets. The network consisted of 428,940 Points of Sale and loan offices, 443 bank branches and 252 post office sites.

 

MANAGEMENT CHANGES

In July 2018 the role of Chairman and CEO was split, with Jiri Smejc, the Group’s minority shareholder, moving from Group Chairman and CEO to Group Executive Chairman, while Mr Ondrej Frydrych, previously our Country Manager in China, became the new Group Chief Executive Officer. The roles have clear and separate responsibilities with Jiri Smejc focusing on Group strategy, providing overall direction and supporting the growth of key business-to- business relationships. Ondrej Frydrych, who will report to Jiri Smejc, comes to the Group CEO role with extensive experience in the area of technology. He will help drive the development of the online offering and Group’s digital platform as well as having responsibility for overall operational oversight and management of Home Credit Group.

DIVESTMENT

In this reporting period the Group has completed its divestment in Belarus and, after having discontinued its banking activities in 2016, sold its subsidiary to Alfa Bank Group, a leading Russian privately-owned banking group.

KPIs SUMMARY

Business Results	6M 2018	YE 2017	6M 2017
Loans granted YTD (EUR million)	10,031	20,689	9,636
Number of active clients (million)	29.0	29.9	26.5
Number of distribution points	429,635	399,276	364,735
– Number of POSs and loan offices	428,940	397,114	362,588
– Number of bank branches	443	432	417
– Number of post offices	252	1,730	1,729
Number of employees (thousand)	130.8	157.7	144.8

 

Profit and Loss (EUR million)	6M 2018	YE 2017	6M 2017
Net interest income	1,542	2,417	1,062
Operating income	1,934	3,123	1,398
Credit risk costs1	(991)	(1,124)	(448)
Operating expenses2	(878)	(1,626)	(744)
Net result for the period	40	244	133
Net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent	48	256	135

• Credit risk costs represent impairment losses on the loan portfolio
• Operating expenses comprise general administrative and other operating expenses

Financial Position (EUR million)	6M 2018	YE 2017
Total assets	21,763	21,526
Net loan portfolio	16,439	15,452
Equity	1,843	2,028
Wholesale funding	12,125	11,979
Customer deposits and current accounts	6,676	6,356
Source: Home Credit B.V., consolidated.

 

KEY RATIOS

Profit and Loss Ratios	6M 2018	YE 2017	6M 2017
Net interest margin1	15.8%	14.7%	13.9%
Net interest income to operating income	79.7%	77.4%	76.0%
Cost to average net loans2	11.2%	12.9%	13.2%
Cost to income ratio3	45.4%	52.0%	53.2%
Cost of risk ratio4	12.6%	8.9%	8.0%
ROAA5	0.4%	1.4%	1.6%
ROAE6	4.3%	14.5%	17.2%

 

Financial Position Ratios	6M 2018	YE 2017	6M 2017
Net loans to total assets	75.5%	71.8%	70.6%
NPL ratio6	9.0%	6.9%	5.9%
NPL coverage ratio7	131.7%	121.7%	128.7%
Deposits to total liabilities	33.5%	32.6%	34.1%
Equity to assets	8.5%	9.4%	8.5%
Equity and deposits to net loans ratio	51.8%	54.3%	56.3%

Source: Home Credit B.V., consolidated.

Ratios are annualized where applicable.