Excluding initial public offering (IPO)-related costs, ASA International’s (ASAI) normalised net profit increased by 30 per cent at constant currencies to £32.4m for FY2018. By providing guarantor-backed loans to low-income female entrepreneurs in Asia and Africa, the group has capitalised on a credit demand from businesses overlooked by mainstream lenders. Expanding its outstanding loan portfolio by 21 per cent to $378.5m (£290m), the group now serves more people in more places. Its branch network grew to 1,665 and its client base increased by 17 per cent to 2.2m.
However, adverse currency movements in Asia constricted statutory figures and lending metrics, despite a strong underlying performance. Totalling £211.5m, the group’s largest portfolio, in South Asia, grew by 34 per cent on a constant-currency basis. But in US dollar terms, “unprecedented” depreciation in the Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan rupees resulted in loan growth of just 16 per cent. It was a similar story in Southeast Asia, with the impact of weakened Asian currencies expected to linger in the first half of 2019. By contrast, in East Africa – a region chief executive Dirk Brouwer considers a “profit generator of the future” – the outstanding loan portfolio surged 61 per cent to $33m.
Analysts at Investec forecast adjusted end-2019 net tangible assets of 102.9¢ a share, increasing to 128.3¢ in 2020.
| ASA INTERNATIONAL (ASAI) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 400p | MARKET VALUE: | £400m | |
| TOUCH: | 400-422p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 520p | LOW: 313.5p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | 2620 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 86.4p | LEVERAGE: | 5.5 | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Total operating income ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2017* | 92.9 | 43.4 | 8.0 | 8.7 |
| 2018 | 119 | 44.7 | 0.2 | 7.3 |
| % change | +28 | +3 | -98 | -16 |
| Ex-div: | 6 Jun | |||
| Payment: | 28 Jun | |||
| *Pre-IPO | ||||
