2017-08-17 07:30:24 CEST

2017-08-17 07:30:24 CEST


REGLERAD INFORMATION

Engelska
Ferratum Oyj - Half Year financial report

FERRATUM OYJ: Ferratum Group reports strong H1 revenues, profit growth and progress on all fronts


Interim Report January - June 2017
Ferratum Group reports strong H1 revenues, profit growth and progress on all
fronts
Helsinki,  17 August  2017 -  Ferratum  Oyj  (ISIN:  FI4000106299,  WKN: A1W9NS)
("Ferratum"  or the "Group") announces preliminary  unaudited results for the 6
months ended 30 June 2017 ("H1 2017").



Financial Highlights

  * Revenue of EUR 103.7 million - up 47.3% year-on-year
  * Operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 14.9 million - up 48.3% year-on-year
  * EBIT margin of 14.4%
  * Profit before tax (EBT) of EUR 11.8 million - up 67.7% year-on-year
  * EPS (basic and diluted) increased 62.8% to EUR 0.46 per share
  * Maturing EUR 20 million Ferratum Bank p.l.c. bond repaid in Q1 with proceeds
    from EUR 25 million senior unsecured bond issued in December 2016
  * Successful tap issue of EUR 15 million by Ferratum Bank p.l.c. in June 2017
  * Net financing costs are stable at EUR 3.2 million (H1 2016: EUR 3.1
    million), benefiting from FX gains in H1 2017 vs FX losses in H1 2016
  * Net book value of loan portfolio grew by 64% year-on-year to EUR 225 million
    (H1 2016: EUR 137 million)
  * Deposits from customers increased to EUR 121.2 million (H1 2016: EUR 32.9
    million)
  * Active/former customer base increased by 337,000 to 1.73 million - up 24%
    year-on-year


Product developments in H1 2017

  * Launch of Primeloan in Finland
  * Ferratum entered the strategically important consumer lending market in
    Brazil with Credit Limit
  * Ferratum Business introduced SME Loans in the United Kingdom
  * Ferratum Mobile Bank rolled out to France and Spain, two of Europe's largest
    retail banking markets










Key Figures


+-----------------------------------------------------+------------------------+
|                                                     | 6 months ended 30 June |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|EUR '000                                             | 2017  | 2016  |% change|
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Revenue                                              |103,730| 70,428| +47.3% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Operating profit (EBIT)                              | 14,942| 10,075| +48.3% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Profit before tax                                    | 11,763|  7,014| +67.7% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Profit before tax %                                  |  11.3%|  10.0%| +13.9% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Net cash flows from operating activities before      | 51,605| 32,009|        |
|movements in portfolio and deposits received         |       |       |        |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Net cash flows from operating activities             |(5,165)| 8,826*|        |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Net cash flows from investing activities             |(4,164)|(4,229)|        |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Net cash flows from financing activities             | 14,653|18,439*|        |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Net increase/decrease in cash and cash equivalents   |  5,323| 23,036|        |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Earnings per share, basic (EUR)                      |   0.46|   0.29| +62.8% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+
|Earnings per share, diluted (EUR)                    |   0.46|   0.29| +62.8% |
+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------+


* restated: the amount of increase / decrease in interests accrued was taken out
and included in the net cash flows from operating activities (after movements in
loan portfolio)





+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|EUR '000                                  |30 June 2017|31 Dec 2016|% change|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Accounts receivable - consumer loans (net)|     224,939|    184,346|  +22.0%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Deposits from customers                   |     121,157|    101,436|  +19.4%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Cash and cash equivalents                 |      79,397|     73,059|   +8.7%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Total assets                              |     344,816|    295,683|  +16.6%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Non-current liabilities                   |      88,917|     72,246|  +23.1%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Current liabilities                       |     160,224|    135,563|  +18.2%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Equity                                    |      95,675|     87,875|   +8.9%|
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Equity ratio %                            |        27.7|       29.7|        |
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+
|Net debt to equity ratio                  |        1.77|       1.53|        |
+------------------------------------------+------------+-----------+--------+


Key Developments and Progress

The  first  six  months  of  2017 have  seen  Ferratum build on the momentum and
performance  that the Group delivered in 2016. Group revenues was up 47.3% year-
on-year to EUR 103.7 million. Ferratum's premium, higher margin products such as
PlusLoan  and Credit Limit represent an increasing proportion of Group revenues,
together  accounting for 73.4% of  Group revenue for  H1 2017 (H1 2016: 67.2%) a
validation  of  the  Group's  strategy  of  using Microloans as a 'beachhead' to
understand  customer behaviour and needs before launching higher margin products
as Ferratum's brand and reputation becomes established in each market.

Lending  to SMEs continues to show  rapid growth, with Ferratum Business volumes
increasing  by 320% year-on-year to  EUR 5.5 million for  H1 2017. The number of
active  and former customers increased  by 24.2% year-on-year to 1.73 million as
of 30 June 2017.

Operating  profit (EBIT) grew in line with revenues increasing by 48.3% year-on-
year  to EUR 14.9 million.  The foreign exchange gain of EUR 842,000 in Q1 2017
was partly offset by a currency loss of EUR 473,000 in Q2 2017 resulting in a H1
2017 net  gain of EUR 369,000.  This  meant that profit before  tax (EBT) for H1
2017 continued to grow by more than EBIT for the period.

Although  credit losses as  a proportion of  revenue increased slightly over the
period  (H1 2017: 34.6% of revenue vs.  H1 2016: 31.8%, ie. up by 2.8%), changes
in  the acquisition and upsell strategy for  customers has had a positive impact
in  reducing  marketing  costs  as  a  proportion of revenues (H1 2017: 15.3% of
revenue vs. H1 2016: 19.1%, ie. down by 3.8%).



Product and country launches

Ferratum  launched  a  new  loan  product,  'Primeloan'  and  expanded  in  some
strategically important new markets with existing products during H1 2017.

Primeloan,  launched in May 2017 in Finland,  is an unsecured personal loan with
amounts  of  EUR  3,000 to  EUR 20,000  and  lending terms of 1 to 10 years. The
product  uses a new  risk model which  links pricing to  the risk profile of the
customer.

In  Brazil, Ferratum entered  the consumer lending  market in May 2017. Ferratum
has  established a  subsidiary in  São Paulo,  which initially focuses on Credit
Limit, the flexible revolving credit product that Ferratum already offers in 10
markets internationally. Credit Limit in Brazil is available in credit limits up
to BRL 3,000 (EUR 850) for consumers.

Ferratum  Business  was  introduced  in  the  UK in June 2017. Ferratum Business
provides  fast, easy working capital loans of  up to £50,000 to small and medium
sized enterprises ("SMEs") in the UK for periods of between 6 and 12 months.

In  June 2017, the Mobile Bank was launched in France and Spain, two of Europe's
largest  retail banking markets.  The introduction of  Ferratum's Mobile Bank in
these  two  important  markets  brings  the  total number of countries where the
Mobile  Bank is  currently available  to five,  following its launch in Germany,
Sweden  and Norway in  2016. As of 30 June  2017, customer deposits have reached
EUR 121.2 million.



Operational developments

In  order to  maintain profitable  growth as  Ferratum continues to innovate its
product  range  and  enter  new  markets,  the  Group has undertaken a number of
restructuring  initiatives to ensure  that the Group's  management structure, IT
infrastructure, customer systems and processes remain resilient and scalable for
international growth.

Accordingly, Ferratum has taken steps to standardize and centralize its customer
service,  collection and back  office functions. The  functions for 14 countries
have  already  been  centralized  in  our  Malta operations, where Ferratum Bank
p.l.c.  holds its  banking license,  and most  of the  10 remaining countries of
operation  will follow by  the end of  2017. The centralization programme covers
both mobile banking and traditional lending customer services and yields a range
of  group-wide  cost  and  efficiency  benefits,  such  as  the  streamlining of
resources,  harmonization and  standardization of  processes, adoption of common
key  performance indicators  across regions  and cost  reductions that avoid the
duplication of country practices.

The  centralization programme is a key  strategic initiative intended to protect
and  improve customer satisfaction throughout our network by delivering the same
high  standards of service and response, wherever and whenever our customers are
using Ferratum's products.



Treasury update

Net  receivables  from  customers  grew  by  22.0 % to EUR 224.9 from EUR 184.3
million at the year end 2016. The loan coverage ratio decreased from 25.4% as of
31 December  2016 to 24.8% as of  30 June 2017 reflecting a  decreasing share of
non perfoming loans and a better portfolio quality.

Ferratum  ended the reporting  period with a  strong cash position  of EUR 79.4
million (30 June 2016: EUR 73.1 million).

During  the first half of 2017, the EUR 20 million bond for Ferratum Bank p.l.c.
was  repaid  with  the  proceeds  of  EUR  25 million  from  the issue of senior
unsecured  bonds due  March 2020 [WKN:  A189MG] in  December 2016. In June 2017
Ferratum Bank p.l.c. successfully concluded a tap issue of EUR 15 million of the
same  bonds [WKN: A189MG] within the facility of an existing EUR 60 million bond
issuance programme.

The  net proceeds  from the  tap issue  are intended  to be used for the general
corporate purposes of Ferratum Bank p.l.c.

By  offering  deposit  products  in  Germany,  France, Spain, Sweden and Norway,
Ferratum  is  diversifying  its  funding  base.  In  the first half of 2017, the
deposit  volume  increased  to  EUR  121.2 million (31 December 2016: EUR 101.4
million).  Besides the strong  cash position, the  Group had unused credit lines
amounting to EUR 15 million as at 30 June 2017.

Ferratum's  group rating of  BBB+ was confirmed  by Creditreform AG during March
2017 in  its regular  annual review.  Bonds issued  in 2013 by  Ferratum Capital
Germany GmbH are rated BBB+.



2017 Outlook

The  Board of Directors of  Ferratum Oyj reaffirms that  revenues for the fiscal
year 2017 are expected to range between EUR 200 million and EUR 225 million. The
operating  profitability margin (EBIT margin) is  expected to range between 13%
and 16%.

Ferratum Oyj bases this guidance on certain assumptions, including:

  * Consumer credit volumes continue to grow, exceeding the market average,
    based on new customers, continued diversification of consumer lending
    products and growth in new markets.
  * Ferratum Business (SME) lending continues to gain market share in its
    existing markets of operation. Ferratum plans to introduce the product in
    additional markets during 2017, and met this objective in H1 2017 by
    introducing SME lending in the UK.
  * The Ferratum Mobile Bank is rolled out in additional countries and generates
    new customers, retains customer loyalty, stimulates cross selling, increases
    deposit volume and diversifies deposit currencies. Ferratum met this
    objective during H1 2017 by launching the Mobile Bank in France and Spain.
  * There are no material negative changes in the consumer and business credit
    markets of relevance to Ferratum.
  * Stable capital market conditions.
  * There are no unexpected significant new regulatory challenges or changes.


About Ferratum Group:
Ferratum is an international provider of consumer and small business loans,
distributed and managed by mobile devices.  Founded in 2005 and headquartered in
Helsinki, Finland, Ferratum is a pioneer in the fields of financial technology
and mobile lending and has expanded rapidly to operate in 24 countries (as at
17 August 2017). Ferratum's customers utilize digital media to apply for
consumer credit in amounts varying between EUR 25 and EUR 20,000 and small
businesses instalment loans up to EUR 100,000 with a term of six to twelve
months.  Led by its founder, Jorma Jokela, Ferratum has more than 1.7 million
active and former customers who have been granted one or more loans in the past
(as at 30 June 2017).

Ferratum Group is listed on the Prime Standard of Frankfurt Stock Exchange under
symbol 'FRU.' For more information, visit www.ferratumgroup.com.



Contacts:

 Ferratum Group                   European media enquiries:
 Dr. Clemens Krause, CFO          Edelman.ergo, A Daniel J Edelman Company
 T: +49 30 88715308               Alexander Schmidt | Andreas Martin
 F: +49 30 88715309               T: +49 69 27 13 89 26
 E: clemens.krause@ferratum.com   E: Alexander.Schmidt@edelmanergo.com
                                  E: Andreas.Martin@edelmanergo.com


 Ferratum Group                   UK media enquiries:
 Paul Wasastjerna                 Smithfield, A Daniel J Edelman Company
 Head of Investor Relations       Alex Simmons | Brett Jacobs
 T: +358 40 7248247               T: +44 20 7903 0669 | +44 20 7903 0675
 F: +358 20 741 1614              E: asimmons@smithfieldgroup.com
 E: paul.wasastjerna@ferratum.com E: bjacobs@smithfieldgroup.com



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