Oslo, 2020-08-20
Second quarter financial highlights:
* Gross cash collection of NOK 1,277 million (1,328)
- down 4% y-o-y
* Operating profit of NOK 245 million (-69)
* Cash EBITDA of NOK 916 million (993)
- down 8% y-o-y
* ERC at end of month NOK 25,298 million (23,809)
- up 6% y-o-y
(Comparable numbers for Q2 2019 in brackets)
B2Holding had total operating revenues of NOK 702 million in the second quarter, an increase of 85 per cent from the same quarter last year.
Gross cash collection including JVs was down by 4 per cent to NOK 1,277 million, and cost to collect was up 0.2 percentage points quarter on quarter to 21.7 per cent in Q2 2020. The impact on collections have been lower than expected in the second quarter, which was the first full quarter with visible effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cash EBITDA was NOK 916 million, a decrease of 8 per cent compared to the second quarter 2019, while operating profit (EBIT) was NOK 245 million compared to NOK -69 million in Q2 2019.
Profit after tax was NOK 34 million, compared to NOK –270 million Q2 2019, leading to earnings per share of NOK 0.08, compared to -0.66 in the second quarter last year. The significant increase in operating profit and profit after tax compared to same quarter last year is primarily explained by one-off write downs on secured portfolios in Q2 2019.
B2Holding invested NOK 473 million in new portfolios in the second quarter. The majority of investments for the first half year 2020 are related to forward flow transactions in unsecured portfolios. The total gross ERC was NOK 25.3 billion at end of the quarter.
At the end of the second quarter, B2Holding had NOK 3.0 billion in liquidity reserve (formerly stated as available investment capacity) adjusted for deferred payment of portfolio purchases of NOK 76 million, in addition to operating cash flow.
B2Holding ASA was in line with the original RCF covenants by end of Q2 2020 and expects to be in line with the original covenants going forward.
The Group had a currency adjusted cost saving of NOK 85 million in the second quarter, exceeding the target announced in the first quarter presentation.
“Our focus during the second quarter has been to safeguard the health and safety of our employees and at the same time being able to maintain operations at a close to normal level. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have made various stress test scenarios, and in the second quarter collections exceeded our expectations in these scenarios. I am also pleased to see that we have reached our cost saving targets while ensuring limited impact on our workforce.” said Erik J. Johnsen, CEO of B2Holding ASA.
Going forward, B2Holding expects that investment levels will remain low in the third quarter but aim to resume volumes when visibility improves. The Group is observing the markets closely and expect increasing NPL volumes coming to the market in 2021.
The Group will continue to focus on improving efficiencies combined with targeted cost reductions to prepare for improving market conditions following the Covid-19 pandemic.
For further information, please see the Q2 2020 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 August at 08:30 CEST, 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/20200820_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.
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 2,500 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 Second quarter presentation 2020
B2Holding ASA Second quarter report 2020
