March 2024 Quarterly Business Update

ASA International Group PLC
23 April 2024
 

Press release

 

ASA International Group plc March 2024 quarterly business update

 

London, United Kingdom, 23 April 2024 - 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 2024.

·    The Group's Gross OLP increased to USD 380 million (0.9% higher than in December 2023 and 13% higher than at 31 March 2023).

·    All operating subsidiaries, achieved collection efficiency of more than 90% with 12 countries achieving more than 95%.

·      Collection efficiency in India improved to 98% in March 2024 compared to 97% in December 2023. The intentional decrease in our own portfolio in India has slowed down while the business continues to grow the off-book BC portfolio in India. This approach is designed to help India retain good clients.

·    PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue for more than 365 days, improved to 1.8% in March 2024 (December 2023: 2.0%).

·    Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180 days and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30 remained stable at 1.1% in March 2024 (December 2023: 1.1%).

·    Disbursements as a percentage of collections exceeded 100% in ten countries.

 

Collection efficiency until 31 March 2024(1)  

Countries

Oct/23

Nov/23

Dec/23

Jan/24

Feb/24

Mar/24

Pakistan

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

99%

India (total)

95%

95%

97%

95%

97%

98%

Sri Lanka

95%

96%

96%

96%

96%

96%

The Philippines

98%

98%

98%

98%

98%

99%

Myanmar

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Ghana

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Nigeria

95%

95%

95%

94%

94%

93%

Sierra Leone

98%

98%

99%

97%

97%

97%

Tanzania

100%

100%

100%

99%

99%

99%

Kenya

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Uganda

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Rwanda

97%

96%

96%

96%

95%

95%

Zambia

99%

99%

99%

99%

99%

99%

(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%.

 

·    Collection efficiency remained stable at high levels in most of our operating countries during March 2024 compared to December 2023.

·    Collection efficiency in India improved to 98% in March 2024 compared to 97% in December 2023.

·    Although market conditions in both Myanmar and Nigeria remained challenging, collection efficiency remained largely stable.



Loan portfolio quality up to and including March 2024(2, 3)  

 


 Gross OLP (in USDm)

 Non-overdue loans

 PAR>30 less PAR>180

 

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Pakistan

        70

           72

          73

99.6%

98.9%

98.7%

0.3%

0.4%

0.4%

India (total)

        47

           49

          50

81.4%

94.8%

95.2%

2.5%

1.9%

1.8%

Sri Lanka

          4

             5

            5

92.6%

92.8%

92.2%

3.2%

2.9%

3.3%

The Philippines

        55

           56

          57

95.3%

95.0%

94.9%

2.5%

2.4%

2.2%

Myanmar

        22

           23

          21

92.9%

93.1%

99.7%

0.1%

0.2%

0.2%

Ghana

        48

           48

          45

99.6%

99.6%

99.5%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

Nigeria

        15

             9

            9

80.9%

79.1%

77.6%

4.4%

5.3%

5.9%

Sierra Leone

          5

             5

            5

92.5%

92.2%

92.4%

1.8%

2.1%

2.3%

Tanzania

        65

           65

          66

98.6%

98.4%

98.3%

0.5%

0.6%

0.7%

Kenya

        21

           25

          29

99.6%

99.6%

99.6%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

Uganda

        13

           13

          13

98.8%

98.9%

98.9%

0.3%

0.2%

0.2%

Rwanda

          4

             4

            4

90.2%

89.1%

89.0%

3.6%

4.4%

4.6%

Zambia

          3

             3

            3

95.7%

95.3%

95.2%

0.9%

1.2%

1.3%

Group

      373

375

        380

95.0%

96.7%

97.0%

1.2%

1.1%

1.1%

 

 

 

PAR>30

PAR>90

 PAR>180

 

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Pakistan

0.3%

0.5%

0.8%

0.2%

0.3%

0.7%

0.0%

0.1%

0.5%

India (total)

3.1%

2.2%

2.1%

1.6%

1.0%

1.0%

0.6%

0.3%

0.3%

Sri Lanka

4.9%

4.6%

4.9%

3.2%

3.0%

3.0%

1.8%

1.6%

1.6%

The Philippines

3.8%

3.8%

3.8%

2.8%

3.0%

3.0%

1.3%

1.5%

1.6%

Myanmar

0.2%

0.2%

0.2%

0.1%

0.1%

0.2%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Ghana

0.2%

0.2%

0.2%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

Nigeria

12.7%

13.1%

12.8%

10.4%

10.1%

9.1%

8.3%

7.9%

6.9%

Sierra Leone

4.3%

4.3%

4.2%

3.4%

3.1%

2.8%

2.5%

2.2%

1.9%

Tanzania

1.0%

1.1%

1.2%

0.7%

0.8%

0.8%

0.5%

0.5%

0.5%

Kenya

0.3%

0.3%

0.3%

0.3%

0.2%

0.2%

0.2%

0.2%

0.1%

Uganda

0.8%

0.8%

0.7%

0.7%

0.7%

0.6%

0.5%

0.6%

0.5%

Rwanda

7.1%

7.7%

7.8%

5.3%

5.5%

5.5%

3.6%

3.4%

3.2%

Zambia

2.5%

2.5%

2.6%

2.1%

1.9%

1.8%

1.5%

1.3%

Group

2.0%

1.7%

1.8%

1.4%

1.2%

1.3%

0.8%

0.7%

0.8%

 

 

(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 0.6% of the Gross OLP.

(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.

·    Gross OLP in India further increased to USD 50 million (9% higher than in December 2023 and 13% higher than in March 2023).

·    PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue for more than 365 days, improved to 1.8% in March 2024.

·    The off-book portfolio in India consists of IDFC of USD 11.0 million, Fincare of USD 3.9 million and the Jana portfolio of USD 29.6 million. The off-book DA portfolio amounts to USD 1.0 million.



Disbursements vs collections of loans until 31 March 2024(4)  

 

Countries

Oct/23

Nov/23

Dec/23

Jan/24

Feb/24

Mar/24

Pakistan

95%

96%

98%

106%

79%

84%

India (total)

64%

123%

121%

127%

122%

118%

Sri Lanka

109%

102%

112%

91%

133%

119%

The Philippines

103%

105%

107%

103%

109%

107%

Myanmar

124%

116%

117%

109%

107%

113%

Ghana

109%

127%

118%

86%

105%

98%

Nigeria

120%

135%

96%

60%

77%

73%

Sierra Leone

113%

98%

80%

96%

119%

130%

Tanzania

113%

115%

117%

101%

102%

109%

Kenya

113%

120%

85%

118%

115%

115%

Uganda

115%

115%

96%

93%

109%

110%

Rwanda

116%

120%

118%

77%

96%

110%

Zambia

124%

134%

115%

81%

100%

110%

(4) 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 ten countries.

·    The decreased percentages in Pakistan during February and March 2024 were due to elections and the migration to the new Core Banking System.

·    The decreased percentages in Nigeria during January to March 2024 were due to the challenging market condition.

 

Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 31 March 2024


 Clients (in thousands)

 Delta

 Gross OLP (in USDm)

 Delta

Countries

Mar/23

Feb/24

Mar/24

Mar/23-Mar/24

Feb/24-Mar/24

Mar/23

Feb/24

Mar/24

Mar/23-Mar/24 USD

Mar/23-Mar/24 CC(5)

Feb/24-
Mar/24 USD

Pakistan

601

625

621

3%

-1%

64

       72

        73

14%

12%

1%

India (total)

224

178

180

-20%

1%

44

       49

        50

13%

14%

2%

Sri Lanka

45

44

45

-1%

1%

5

         5

          5

7%

-2%

6%

The Philippines

326

336

341

4%

1.5%

52

       56

        57

10%

13%

2%

Myanmar

98

115

117

19%

2%

18

       23

        21

21%

21%

-5%

Ghana

180

198

194

8%

-2%

35

       48

        45

29%

46%

-5%

Nigeria

174

173

165

-5%

-5%

24

         9

          9

-62%

15%

8%

Sierra Leone

36

38

38

6%

0%

4

         5

          5

25%

-100%

7%

Tanzania

221

251

253

14%

1%

53

       65

        66

24%

36%

1%

Kenya

159

210

215

35%

3%

18

       25

        29

56%

56%

16%

Uganda

105

123

125

19%

1%

11

       13

        13

15%

19%

4%

Rwanda

20

20

20

3%

0%

4

         4

          4

3%

20%

2%

Zambia

21

26

26

22%

2%

3

         3

          3

10%

30%

-5%

Group

2,209

2,338

2,339

6%

0.04%

335

375

380

13%

21.9%

1.4%

 

(5) 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 improved to USD 380 million (0.9% higher than in December 2023 and 13% higher than in March 2023).

---

Enquiries:

ASA International Group plc

Investor Relations                                                                                          

Mischa Assink                                                                                    ir@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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