Ferratum Group at record level at the end of the financial year 2014
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Ferratum Oyj /
Ferratum Group at record level at the end of the financial year 2014
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
* Based on preliminary figures, Ferratum achieved record revenues of EUR 70.5
million in 2014
* Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) rises by around 61% to EUR 11.8 million;
EBIT margin stands at 16.7%
* Adjusted earnings before tax (EBT) of EUR 7.8 million increasing the EBT
margin to 11%
* Organic growth in existing markets reflected in customer growth of around
26%
Helsinki/Berlin, 27 February 2015 - Ferratum Oyj (ISIN: FI4000106299, WKN:
A1W9NS; together with its consolidated subsidiaries hereinafter "Ferratum Group"
or "Ferratum"), an international provider of mobile consumer loans headquartered
in Helsinki, releases its report on its preliminary, unaudited results of
operations for the financial year 2014 in accordance with the Finnish Securities
Markets Act. The preliminary results show that Ferratum has grown both its
revenues and its profitability.
The Group's ongoing growth in recent years has been facilitated by the rigorous
implementation of its corporate strategy. In the financial year 2014, Ferratum
used its EU banking licence in eight countries and extended its product
portfolio to four products. The three new products are planned to be implemented
in every country of operation one by one. Ferratum's consumer base increased by
25.9% in a year-on-year comparison to approximately one million customers (2013:
0.8 million customers). As a result, revenues climbed to EUR 70.5 million, up
from EUR 58.2 million in 2013.
The Group incurred expenditures of EUR 1.2 million in connection with its IPO
that was completed in February 2015. Thereof, EUR 977,000 are related to
advantages in form of stock options for several of Ferratum's employees -
calculated in accordance with the principles of IFRS 2. These options do and did
not affect Ferratum's cash position when they were granted or when they are
exercised, because they were granted directly by Ferratum's majority shareholder
to the employees and relate to shares from the holdings of the majority
shareholder. Adjusted by this one-time effect EBIT improved by 60.8% to EUR
11.8 million, which corresponds to an adjusted EBIT margin of 16.7%. Excluding
IPO related costs, the EBIT reported an above-average increase, rising by 44.8%
to EUR 10.6 million (2013: EUR 7.3 million) and resulting in an EBIT margin of
15.1% (2013: 12.6%). This performance is due in particular to the improved risk
management system and the associated optimised risk provisioning for the lending
business. Despite the higher level of customer receivables (micro credits) of
EUR 61.5 million (2013: EUR 44.7 million), the impairments on loans of EUR 21.6
million in the financial year 2013 were reduced to EUR 20.4 million in the
reporting period. The adjusted earnings before tax (EBT) also grew significantly
to EUR 7.8 million (EUR 6.6 million taking IPO costs into account; 2013: EUR 3.9
million), corresponding to an adjusted EBT margin of 11.0% (9.3% less IPO costs;
2013: 6.7%). These figures translated to a net income of EUR 6.8 million
(EUR 5.6 million taking IPO costs into account). Ferratum generated the highest
consolidated profit in its history in the period under review (2013: EUR 3.5
million), bringing adjusted earnings per share to EUR 0.36 (based on 18,744,200
shares at the end of the review period), and EUR 0.31 taking into account the
IPO costs (2013: EUR 0.19). These preliminary, unaudited figures may deviate
from the audited figures of the financial year 2014 which will be published in
March 2015.
Jorma Jokela, founder and CEO of the Ferratum Group, comments: "The revenue
development in the financial year 2014 was characterised by increasingly dynamic
growth. At the same time, we are highly profitable. The IPO generated proceeds
of EUR 48.2 million for Ferratum which we will use to implement our strategy."
With its market entry into Canada at the start of 2015, Ferratum now operates in
20 countries around the globe. In the medium term, the Group intends to expand
its presence to 30 countries. Ferratum has also successfully diversified its
product portfolio. Alongside its established micro loans, Ferratum now offers
instalment loans (PlusLoan), as well as a credit limit product with flexible
repayment modalities (Credit Limit) and Ferbuy, an online payment transaction
product with optional credit line. These products are planned to be offered in
all markets Ferratum operates in. These new products enable Ferratum to offer
larger credit amounts to its customers with longer terms, thereby raising
revenues per customer. Accordingly, Jorma Jokela views the financial year 2015
with optimism: "All in all, we believe that the prerequisites for further growth
in revenues and earnings are very good."
Moreover, the successful IPO in February 2015 opens up entirely new prospects
for Ferratum. Jorma Jokela: "The banking sector is in a phase of transition: The
triumphant advent of the Internet and ubiquitous smart phones have already
revolutionised our daily lives. This trend towards digitalisation is set to pick
up growing momentum and will also take an increasing hold on the financial
services sector, a development that will reinforce our market opportunities: We
are planning our offering to accommodate simple, mobile banking services in
response to the expectations of customers today, to expand this offering and to
develop Ferratum into a mobile bank in the medium term. Our EU banking licence
will, for instance, allow deposit business typical of a bank. Among other
things, we plan to use the funds from the IPO to take this decisive development
step in the corporate history of Ferratum and to thereby drive the perspective
of advancing our profitable growth."
As from today, the full report on the preliminary, unaudited figures for the
financial year 2014 is available for downloading from our website at
www.ferratumgroup.com under the "Investor Relations" heading. Guidance for the
current financial year will be published together with the 2014 annual report on
27 March 2015.
About Ferratum Group:
The Finnish Ferratum Group, a pioneer for mobile consumer loans in Europe,
offers short-term consumer loans. Ferratum's customers can utilize digital media
to apply for consumer credit in amounts varying between EUR 25 and EUR 2,000.
Managed by its founder Jorma Jokela, Ferratum has expanded rapidly since it was
founded in 2005: Ferratum has 1.0 million active and former customers who have
been granted one or more loans in the past and 2.8 million total user accounts
in its database (as of 31 December 2014). Ferratum is represented in 20 markets
and employs more than 380 people as of 31 December 2014.
Contact:
Ferratum Group
Dr. Clemens Krause, CFO
T: +49 30 88715308
F: +49 30 88715309
M: clemens.krause(at)ferratum.com
Ferratum Group
Paul Wasastjerna
Treasury & Investor Relations Manager
T: +358 40 7248247
F: +358 20 741 1614
M: paul.wasastjerna(at)ferratum.com
cometis AG
Henryk Deter | Mariana Kuhn
T: +49 611 20 58 55-61
F: +49 611 20 58 55-66
M: kuhn(at)cometis.de
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other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ferratum Oyj via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1897946]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 27.02.2015 - 08:32 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 374818
Anzahl Zeichen: 8555
contact information:
Town:
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Kategorie:
Business News
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