(Oslo, 2021-05-20)
First quarter financial highlights:
* Gross collection of NOK 1,494 million (1,433)
- up 4 % y-o-y
* EBIT of NOK 330 million (255)
- up 30 % y-o-y
* Cash EBITDA of NOK 1,014 million (881)
- up 15 % y-o-y
* Leverage ratio of 2.62x, down from 3.04x in Q4 2020
(Comparable numbers for Q1 2020 in brackets)
B2Holding had total revenues of NOK 782 million in the first quarter, up 1 per cent from the same quarter last year.
Gross collection including SPVs and joint ventures was up by 4 per cent to NOK 1,494 million, and cost to collect was down 4.6 percentage points quarter on quarter to 18.3 per cent in Q1 2021. Collections and recoveries progressed well and were above expectations of the latest forecast.
Cash EBITDA was NOK 1,014 million, an increase of 15 per cent compared to the first quarter 2020, while operating profit (EBIT) was NOK 330 million, up 30 % compared to NOK 255 million in Q1 2020.
Profit after tax was NOK 130 million, equivalent to earnings per share of NOK 0.32, compared to NOK 24 million and NOK 0.06 per share in the first quarter 2020.
B2Holding invested NOK 192 million in new portfolios in the first quarter. Investments in the quarter were 99 % unsecured portfolios, of which 82 % were forward flow transactions. The total gross ERC was NOK 20.8 billion at end of the quarter.
During the quarter, B2Holding has strengthened its liquidity reserve and increased its headroom to financial covenants. At the end of the first quarter, B2Holding had EUR 360 million in liquidity reserves. In addition to bank financing, the Group has four listed senior unsecured bond loans for a total of EUR 775m. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, a nominal value of EUR 91m was held as treasury bonds, of which EUR 64m was held in Bond 2 maturing in October 2021.
The Group had a currency adjusted cost saving of NOK 62 million in the first quarter compared to first quarter 2020, in accordance with the cost saving targets announced in first quarter presentation 2020.
Transaction activity in the industry is still quite low compared with previous years. The Group observe signs of increased activity and expect a more active market in the second half of 2021 and into 2022.
“The first quarter showed strong performance, with both unsecured collections and secured recoveries performing better than expected. I am very pleased to see that our strategic initiatives are showing results. We have lowered our cost of funding, mainly as a result of the repayment of our first bond, and B2Holding has strengthened its balance sheet even further during the quarter. As such we are well positioned to take part actively in an NPL market which we expect will present attractive opportunities going forward.” said Erik J. Johnsen, CEO of B2Holding ASA.
For further information, please see the Q1 2021 presentation and report attached.
*Definitions of alternative performance measures can be found in the attached report and presentation.
The documents are also available on the Company's website: www.b2holding.no
The results will be presented today, Thursday 20 May at 08:00 CET, in a webcast. Due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, it is not possible to physically attend the presentation. The webcast presentation is available through this link: https://channel.royalcast.com/hegnarmedia/#!/hegnarmedia/20210520_1
Live webcast viewers who would like to ask questions at the end of the presentation must submit their written questions in the provided form in the webcast. A recorded version of the webcast will be available on-demand after the live stream is concluded.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
For further information, contact:
André Adolfsen, CFO
Mobile: +47 930 19 150
E-mail: aad@b2holding.no
or
Rasmus Hansson, Head of Commercial Strategy and Investor Relations
Mobile: +47 952 55 842
E-mail: rh@b2holding.no
About B2Holding Group
B2Holding ASA is a Nordic based debt solutions provider with platforms in over 20 European countries. B2Holding has experienced significant growth since its inception in 2011 and has established itself as one of the leading European debt purchasers and a solution-oriented partner within the debt servicing industry. B2Holding employs approximately 2,400 people. The head office is located in Oslo, Norway and the B2Holding share is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under ticker “B2H”.
Attachments:
B2Holding ASA First quarter presentation 2021
B2Holding ASA First quarter report 2021
