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Ferratum Oyj : Ferratum Group releases final figures for the financial year 2014
Helsinki/Berlin, March, 27 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, is today releasing its consolidated financial statements as at December, 31 2014 drawn up in accordance with IFRS. The final, audited figures confirm the company's positive performance in the financial year 2014.
These figures show that Ferratum lifted revenues by 21.2% to EUR 70.5 million, up from EUR 58.2 million, thereby setting a new record. The positive revenue development is especially attributable to the increase in the number of customers, which were up to around one million in the financial year 2014 (2013: 0.8 million customers). Adjusted for the non-recurrent costs of the IPO, Ferratum generated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of EUR 11.8 million from its operations. The adjusted EBIT margin came in at 16.7%. Also when including the IPO-related costs, EBIT climbed by 44.8% to EUR 10.6 million (2013: EUR 7.3 million), resulting in an EBIT margin of 15.1% (2013: 12.6%). Growth in profitability was promoted in particular by an optimised risk management system: with a larger portfolio of EUR 61.5 million (2013: EUR 44.7 million) in customer receivables (microloans), the risk provision was reduced to EUR 20.4 million in the period under review, down from EUR 21.6 million in the financial year 2013. Adjusted earnings before tax (EBT) grew significantly to EUR 7.7 million (EUR 6.5 million after IPO-related costs; 2013: EUR 3.9 million), bringing the adjusted EBT margin to 10.9% (9.3% after IPO-related costs; 2013: 6.7%). As a result, the Group's profit was raised to a record figure of EUR 6.8 million (EUR 5.6 million after IPO-related costs), compared with the previous year's figure of EUR 3.5 million, which corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.36 (with 18,744,200 shares at the end of the reporting period). Taking account of the IPO-related costs, earnings per share stood at EUR 0.31 (2013: EUR 0.19).
Jorma Jokela, founder and CEO of the Ferratum Group, summarised the year 2014 as follows and looks to the future with optimism: "The financial year 2014 was the most successful year in the company's 10-year history, marking a significant increase in revenue and profitability. On top of this, Ferratum received around EUR 48 million in growth capital from its successful IPO. We have now set in place a key prerequisite for moving ahead with dynamic and profitable growth."
The defined growth strategy will be consequently pursued in the current financial year and beyond: In the financial year 2014, Ferratum commenced operations in Germany and Romania, and was able also to extend its geographical reach at the start of 2015 through its market entry into Canada. Ferratum currently operates in 20 countries all over the world and has plans to expand its business activities to encompass 30 countries in the medium term. In addition, Ferratum will be rolling out the activities of Ferratum Bank Ltd to other countries in Europe. The financial year 2014 saw Ferratum already using its EU banking licence for its business activities in eight countries. The product portfolio was also supplemented by adding three new products. These products are to be introduced into other countries where Ferratum operates over the course of the financial year 2015. The new products will enable Ferratum to offer customers larger loans and longer terms, thereby raising revenues per customer.
With a view to the vision of developing Ferratum into a leading mobile bank, Jorma Jokela stated: "With our EU banking licence and our established Big Data technology, we are excellently positioned to play a key role in shaping the digital revolution in the banking sector as a mobile bank. In this context, we will be concentrating on introducing the deposit business via the Ferratum bank this year and plan to improve the mobile usability of our products and services.
The full version of the Annual Report 2014 is available today in English for downloading from the company's website at www.ferratumgroup.com under the "Investor Relations" heading.
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 383 people as of 31 December 2014.
Contact:
Ferratum Group
Dr. Clemens Krause, CFO
T: +49 30 88715308
F: +49 30 88715309
M: clemens.krause@ferratum.com
Ferratum Group
Paul Wasastjerna
Head of Investor Relations
T: +358 40 7248247
F: +358 20 741 1614
M: paul.wasastjerna@ferratum.com
cometis AG
Henryk Deter | Mariana Kuhn
T: +49 611 20 58 55-61
F: +49 611 20 58 55-66
M: kuhn@cometis.de
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