TIDMASAI

RNS Number : 6890L

ASA International Group PLC

17 May 2022

ASA International Group plc April 2022 business update

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 17 May 2022 - 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 at 30 April 2022.

-- Liquidity remains high with approximately USD 105m of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents across the Group.

   --    The pipeline of funding deals under negotiation totalled approximately USD 196m. 

-- With the exception of India and Myanmar, all other operating subsidiaries continued to achieve collection efficiency of more than 90% with 8 countries achieving more than 95%.

-- India collections improved from 81% to 83%, despite the substantial overdue collections and moratoriums provided to clients. Collection efficiency, excluding instalments due from clients receiving the one-time loan restructuring offered by the Reserve Bank of India ('RBI'), however decreased from 116% to 111%.

-- T he benchmark PAR>30 for the Group, including off-book loans and excluding loans overdue more than 365 days, slightly decreased from 6.7% to 6.3%.

-- The PAR>30 for the Group's operating subsidiaries, excluding India and Myanmar, remained at 1.9%.

-- Excluding all loans which have been overdue for more than 180 days and, as a result, have been fully provided for, PAR>30 remained broadly stable at 4.4% from 4.6%.

-- Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 10 countries. The decreasing percentage in India is primarily due to the ongoing strategic decision to reduce disbursements while political unrest in Myanmar and Sri Lanka led to the country operations curtailing disbursements as a precaution.

-- With the number of clients broadly stable at 2.4m, despite the continuing strategic focus in India on only collections, the Gross OLP slightly increased to USD 418m (0.3 % higher than in March 2022 and 13% lower than in April 2021).

-- The moratorium amount decreased from USD 21.7m to USD 20.1 m, and is composed of the restructured loans of certain distressed clients in India as per the RBI guidelines. No other operating subsidiary granted moratoriums.

Funding

   --    Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents remained high at approximately USD 105m. 

-- The Company secured approximately USD 17m of new loans from local and international lenders in April 2022.

-- The majority of the Company's USD 196m 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 April 2022 (1)

 
 Countries                 Nov/21      Dec/21      Jan/22      Feb/22     Mar/22     Apr/22 
                         ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 India                       69%         74%         76%        76%        81%        83% 
 Pakistan                    99%         99%         99%        100%       100%       100% 
 Sri Lanka                   92%         94%         93%        93%        94%        93% 
 The Philippines             97%         97%         98%        98%        99%        99% 
 Myanmar                     75%         78%         78%        72%        72%        72% 
 Ghana                       99%         99%         99%        99%        100%       100% 
 Nigeria                     97%         96%         95%        96%        96%        95% 
 Sierra Leone                92%         92%         92%        92%        94%        94% 
 Kenya                      100%        100%         99%        100%       100%       100% 
 Uganda                      98%        100%        100%        100%       100%       100% 
 Tanzania                   100%        100%        100%        100%       100%       100% 
 Rwanda                      97%         97%         97%        97%        97%        97% 
 Zambia                      99%         99%        100%        100%       98%        98% 
-----------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 (1) Collection efficiency refers to actual collections from clients 
  divided by realizable 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 realizable regular 
  collections, actual overdue collections and actual advance payments. 
  Under this definition collection efficiency cannot exceed 100%. 
  (2) Collections are impacted by the ongoing lockdowns and civil unrest 
  in some areas of our operations. 
 

-- Collection efficiency across the Group increased or remained broadly stable compared to the previous month in all countries .

-- Collections in India improved to 83%, despite the substantial overdue collections and moratoriums provided to clients. Collection efficiency, excluding instalments due from clients receiving the one-time loan restructuring, however decreased from 116% to 111%.

-- Collection efficiency in India, including regular and overdue collections as well as advance payments, decreased from 113% to 109% as a percentage of the regular, realisable collections, including advance payments. The substantial difference is due to the Group's policy that any loan instalment paid is first credited against the oldest outstanding amount overdue. This has an adverse impact on India's monthly collection efficiency, which is further aggravated by the relatively long duration of the loans disbursed in India. This adjusted collection efficiency metric illustrates that most clients in India continue to make payments on their loans due.

Loan portfolio quality up to and including April 2022 (3, 4, 5)

 
                     Gross OLP (in USDm)         Non-overdue loans         PAR>30 less PAR>180 
                 -------------------------  -------------------------  ------------------------- 
                  Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22   Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22   Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22 
 India (total)       107      103       98    69.7%    70.1%    70.7%    10.2%     9.3%     8.6% 
 Pakistan             83       83       84    99.7%    99.7%    99.7%     0.2%     0.2%     0.2% 
 Sri Lanka             8        6        5    85.9%    86.7%    86.1%     4.1%     4.0%     4.2% 
 Philippines          47       47       48    95.7%    96.3%    96.6%     1.9%     1.6%     1.4% 
 Myanmar              21       21       20    58.5%    57.7%    61.8%    22.7%    29.3%    33.3% 
 Ghana                44       41       43    99.3%    99.3%    99.4%     0.2%     0.2%     0.2% 
 Nigeria              37       37       38    90.6%    90.3%    89.8%     3.6%     3.9%     3.9% 
 Sierra 
  Leone                7        7        7    71.1%    65.8%    78.4%     7.1%     6.8%     6.7% 
 Kenya                18       18       20    98.6%    98.6%    98.7%     0.6%     0.5%     0.5% 
 Uganda               10       11       11    91.7%    92.9%    93.7%     0.9%     0.4%     0.2% 
 Tanzania             37       38       40    99.1%    99.1%    99.1%     0.1%     0.2%     0.1% 
 Rwanda                3        3        3    92.4%    93.1%    93.2%     3.2%     3.1%     3.1% 
 Zambia                2        2        2    97.7%    96.8%    95.8%     0.8%     1.1%     1.6% 
 Group               424      417      418    87.7%    87.9%    89.0%     4.6%     4.6%     4.4% 
 
 
                           PAR>30                     PAR>90                     PAR>180 
                 -------------------------  -------------------------  ------------------------- 
                  Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22   Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22   Feb/22   Mar/22   Apr/22 
 India (total)     17.1%    15.4%    14.3%     9.9%     8.7%     7.9%     6.9%     6.2%     5.7% 
 Pakistan           0.2%     0.2%     0.2%     0.1%     0.1%     0.1%     0.0%     0.0%     0.0% 
 Sri Lanka          6.9%     6.6%     6.9%     4.3%     4.2%     4.6%     2.8%     2.6%     2.6% 
 Philippines        2.7%     2.8%     2.8%     2.0%     2.1%     2.3%     0.8%     1.2%     1.4% 
 Myanmar           23.3%    29.8%    33.8%     0.9%     1.0%    14.4%     0.5%     0.5%     0.4% 
 Ghana              0.3%     0.3%     0.3%     0.2%     0.2%     0.2%     0.1%     0.1%     0.1% 
 Nigeria            5.8%     6.2%     6.2%     3.8%     4.0%     4.1%     2.2%     2.3%     2.3% 
 Sierra 
  Leone             9.5%     9.5%     9.8%     6.2%     6.8%     7.5%     2.4%     2.7%     3.1% 
 Kenya              1.1%     1.0%     0.9%     0.8%     0.7%     0.7%     0.5%     0.4%     0.4% 
 Uganda             2.4%     2.0%     1.7%     2.3%     1.9%     1.6%     1.4%     1.6%     1.6% 
 Tanzania           0.4%     0.4%     0.4%     0.3%     0.3%     0.3%     0.3%     0.2%     0.2% 
 Rwanda             5.1%     5.1%     4.9%     3.3%     3.5%     3.3%     1.9%     2.0%     1.8% 
 Zambia             1.1%     1.4%     1.9%     0.5%     0.6%     0.8%     0.3%     0.3%     0.3% 
 Group              6.8%     6.7%     6.3%     3.5%     3.1%     3.5%     2.2%     2.1%     1.9% 
 
   (3) Gross OLP includes the off-book BC and DA model, excluding interest 
   receivable and before deducting ECL provisions and modification loss. 
   (4) 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 3% of the Gross OLP. 
   (5) 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 slightly decreased from 6.7% to 6.3%. 

-- Credit exposure of the India off-book BC portfolio of USD 33.8m is capped at 5%. The included off-book DA portfolio of USD 1.5m has no credit exposure.

Disbursements vs collections of loans until 30 April 2022 (6)

 
 Countries               Nov/21     Dec/21     Jan/22     Feb/22    Mar/22    Apr/22 
                       ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------- 
 India                    85%        88%        78%        65%        62%       52% 
 Pakistan                 98%        100%       100%       96%       100%      117% 
 Sri Lanka                100%       113%       70%        115%      122%       55% 
 The Philippines          90%        81%        80%        93%       104%      112% 
 Myanmar                  90%        95%        99%        99%       116%       77% 
 Ghana                    114%       108%       74%        110%      115%      118% 
 Nigeria                  134%       93%        71%        98%        98%      110% 
 Sierra Leone             112%       110%       97%        102%      113%      105% 
 Kenya                    103%       55%        95%        101%      113%      125% 
 Uganda                   121%       69%        81%        112%      118%      122% 
 Tanzania                 109%       107%       114%       112%      110%      130% 
 Rwanda                   105%       98%        65%        80%       107%      112% 
 Zambia                   111%       109%       76%        80%       109%      116% 
---------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------  -------- 
 (6) Disbursements vs collections refers to actual loan disbursements 
  made to clients divided by total amounts collected from clients in the 
  period. 
 

-- Disbursements as percentage of collections exceeded 100% in 10 countries. The decreasing percentage in India was due to the ongoing strategic decision to reduce disbursements while political unrest in Myanmar and Sri Lanka led to the country operations curtailing disbursements as a precaution.

Development of Clients and Outstanding Loan Portfolio until 30 April 2022

 
                                                                                    Gross OLP (in 
                  Clients (in thousands)                 Delta                          USDm)                                Delta 
                                                                                                         Apr/21-Apr/22   Apr/21-Apr/22   Mar/22-Apr/22 
 Countries      Apr/21   Mar/22   Apr/22    Apr/21-Apr/22   Mar/22-April/22   Apr/21   Mar/22   Apr/22        USD            CC (7)           USD 
 India             736      476       465            -37%               -2%      175      103       98            -44%            -42%             -5% 
 Pakistan          454      541       552             22%                2%       76       83       84             11%             34%              1% 
 Sri Lanka          56       52        51             -9%               -3%        9        6        5            -48%             -7%            -21% 
 The 
  Philippines      325      299       303             -7%                1%       54       47       48            -11%             -4%              2% 
 Myanmar           123      112       110            -11%               -2%       26       21       20            -23%             -8%             -7% 
 Ghana             157      162       164              4%                1%       47       41       43             -9%             19%              4% 
 Nigeria           257      241       237             -8%               -2%       34       37       38             13%             23%              4% 
 Sierra Leone       39       42        41              4%               -2%        5        7        7             22%             49%             -4% 
 Kenya             109      123       127             17%                3%       16       18       20             25%             35%              7% 
 Uganda             85       95        96             14%                2%        9       11       11             26%             25%              7% 
 Tanzania          137      190       195             42%                3%       25       38       40             59%             59%              6% 
 Rwanda             18       18        18             -1%               -1%        3        3        3             21%             25%              2% 
 Zambia              9       16        17             88%                4%        1        2        2            253%            169%             10% 
 Total           2.505    2.368     2.375             -5%             0,30%      479      417      418            -13%             -2%            0,3% 
 

(7) Constant currency ('CC') implies conversion of local currency results to USD with the exchange rate from the beginning of the period.

-- With the number of clients broadly stable at 2.4m, despite the continuing strategic focus in India on only collections, Gross OLP slightly increased to USD 418m (0.3 % higher than in March 2022 and 13% lower than in April 2021).

Selected moratoriums (8) on loan repayments until 30 April 2022

 
                 Clients under moratorium (in 
                          thousands) 
                                                  As % of Total 
 Countries       Feb/22      Mar/22      Apr/22         Clients 
 India              205         205         205             44% 
 Group              205         205         205              9% 
 
 
                 Moratorium amounts (USD 
                        thousands) 
                                              April Moratoriums    As % of Total 
 Countries      Feb/22    Mar/22    Apr/22          as % of OLP      Moratoriums 
 India            23.5      21.5      20.0                  21%             100% 
 Group            23.5      21.5      20.0                   5%             100% 
 

(8) 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 to approximately 44% of clients in India, who accepted to benefit from the one-time debt restructuring scheme established by the RBI and confirmed in September 2021, which ends in June 2022. See RBI Covid-19 Restructuring Guidelines .

-- The moratorium amount across the Group decreased to USD 20.1m, which represents 5 % of the Group's Gross OLP.

Key events in May 2022

-- In Sri Lanka nationwide curfews have been imposed by the government due to ongoing civil and political protests. The Sri Lanka operations have implemented certain measures including restricting loan sizes in order to prevent clients from over-borrowing due to the economic crisis.

-- Other than the existing partial lockdown and curfews in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, the Company is not aware of any further restrictions implemented in its operating countries as a result of the emergence of the Omicron variant up until 16 May 2022.

Enquiries:

ASA International Group plc

Investor Relations +31 6 2030 0139

Véronique Schyns vschyns@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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