Quality over quantity translates into moderate growth

STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS

• Number of active customers reached 298 thousand (31 December 2022: 293 thousand) and the revenue per customer 338 EUR (12M/2022: 346 EUR).
• Total number of customers increased by 4,5% to 970 thousand (31 December 2022: 928 thousand).
• Group consolidated balance sheet up 8,1% to 348,5 million EUR and equity up 16,9% to 65,6 million EUR as of 30 June 2023.
• Increasing use of MyIute app – 619 thousand downloads (31 December 2022: 477 thousand).
• Launch of e-money institution IutePay in Albania as major milestone in evolution of Wallet business to generate additional value streams – QR code payments in MyIute app leverage existing pocket infrastructure while breaking down the existing fee and cost structure for payment processing.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Loan payouts increased by 12,3% 133,8 million EUR (6M/2022: 119,1 million EUR)
• Number of loans signed with 168 thousand almost at previous year’s level (6M/2022: 169 thousand).
• Gross loan portfolio up 7,3% to 231,3 million EUR (31 December 2022: 215,5 million EUR) of which principal amount of loans increased 6,9% to 211,7 million EUR (31 December 2022: 198,1 million EUR).
• Repayment discipline (Customer Performance Index, CPI30) down to 88,2% (6M/2022: 91,1%).
• Net loan portfolio up 7,3% to 208,0 million EUR (31 December 2022: 193,9 million EUR).
• 72 cardless ATMs operational (31 December 2022: 71 ATMs).

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Interest and commission fee income up 33,0% to 46,0 million EUR (6M/2022: 34,6 million EUR) driven by Iute Non-Bank loan portfolio. Interest income from Energbank portfolio remained at the prior-year level considering consolidation as of February 2022.
• Net interest and commission fee income up 30,1% to 32,9 million EUR (6M/2022: 25,3 million EUR) driven by Iute Non-Bank loan portfolio.
• Total revenue up 29,0% to 51,9 million EUR (6M/2022: 40,2 million EUR).
• Cost to revenue ratio at 42,9% (6M/2022: 45,0%) slight improvement that is not considered sufficient by management.
• Adjusted cost to revenue ratio at 37,0 %.
• EBITDA adjusted for FX and integration expenses related to Energbank up 48,1% to 23,1 million EUR (6M/2022: 15,6 million EUR).
• Net profit at 7,0 million EUR compared to 3,4 million EUR adjusted for one-off gains related to the acquisition of Energbank in the prior-year period.
• Strong capitalization and profitability – Eurobond covenants exceeded.

Tallinn, Estonia, 22 August 2023. Iute Group, a leading European personal finance group, reported today unaudited results for 6M/2023.

“Growing as a multinational fintech company is a demanding but rewarding process. As such, 2023 continues to offer challenges but also successes.

In fact, Iute Group continued its moderate growth in Q2 2023, focusing on quality rather than quantity. In doing so, we continue to believe that this focused approach during present times takes precedence over shortsighted quantitative considerations, such as mere balance sheet size or growth figures.

In the big picture, the business results for H1 2023 are slightly ahead of our expectations, despite the current environment. In contrast, internal changes, independent of external factors, could be somewhat faster. In H1 2023, Iute Group generated total revenue of 52 million EUR from financial services it offered to customers – well on track to exceed the 100 million EUR annual target. Moreover, the total assets of 348 million EUR at the end of June 2023 give us confidence that Iute will soon surpass the annual mark of 350 million EUR. Finally, the H1 2023 net profit of 7 million EUR is strong enough to achieve the annual net profit target of 12 million EUR.

Iute Group completed a number of projects in H1 2023 including the launch of IutePay, the e-money institution in Albania. Here, the first customers paid for their coffee using only a QR code in the MyIute app, while the merchants used their smartphones as POS terminals. This example impressively shows how payment solutions can be leveraged within existing pocket infrastructure while breaking down the existing fee and cost structure for payment processing. We believe that Iute QR-based payments are a major milestone in the evolution of the Iute Wallet business to bring additional revenue streams to the MyIute ecosystem.

Other projects are so far along that the team is eagerly awaiting the first results: customers’ reactions to the improved experience, changes in customers’ loan repayment performance, or significant reductions in operating expenses. Then there are projects that appear to require more effort and regulatory scrutiny before yielding tangible results. These include the establishment of new businesses, the wind-down of lending business in Bosnia, and the digitization of Energbank.

On the financing side, we expect the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue to raise key interest rates through 2023. As a consequence, pressure on Iute Group’s cost of capital remains high. Here, regulatory pressure on earnings is increasing while yields on the loan portfolio are declining. The current annualized loan percentage rate is 47%, down from 47,7% a year ago. Loan repayment quality decreased from 91% to 88%. Therefore, the improvement in operational efficiency is being maintained. For example, total assets per employee increased by 8% in H1 2023, and total revenues per employee by 33%. The total cost/income ratio came from 45% to 43% and is thus still above our 40% internal target. Given the existing profitability, we are not yet inclined to reduce lending volumes.

Last but not least, we are pleased to welcome 55 new shareholders among Iute Group’s employees. We have also redeemed the EUR 2019/2023 bonds. Both recent events represent significant milestones in the Iute story as we continue our journey to make money for our investors,” said Tarmo Sild, CEO of Iute Group.

The full unaudited report for 6M/2023 is available under iutecredit.com/reports/.

Earnings Call:

CEO Tarmo Sild and CFO Kristel Kurvits will comment on the unaudited 6M/2023 results by means of a webcast presentation on 23 August 2023, 10.00 CEST. Chief Legal Officer Kadi Raudsepp will participate as a special guest about driving business and financial performance in a changing regulatory environment. The webcast/call will be held in English.

Please register in time to participate in the webcast/call at:
Iute Group – Earnings Call 6M 2023.

The corresponding presentation will also be available on the Company’s website prior to the earnings webcast/call.