(Oslo, 2020-11-03)
Third quarter financial highlights:
* Gross collection of NOK 1,636 million (1,448)
- up 13% y-o-y
* Operating profit of NOK 369 million (387)
- down 4% y-o-y
* Cash EBITDA of NOK 932 million (1,034)
- down 10% y-o-y
* ERC at end of month NOK 24,616 million (24,708)
(Comparable numbers for Q3 2019 in brackets)
B2Holding had total revenues of NOK 845 million in the third quarter, down 4 per cent from the same quarter last year.
Gross collection including SPVs and joint ventures was up by 13 per cent to NOK 1,636 million, and cost to collect was down 5.5 percentage points quarter on quarter to 16.9 per cent in Q3 2020. The collections have exceeded the forecast in the third quarter, primarily due to significant recoveries for the secured portfolios.
Cash EBITDA was NOK 932 million, a decrease of 10 per cent compared to the third quarter 2019, while operating profit (EBIT) was NOK 369 million compared to NOK 387 million in Q3 2019.
Profit after tax was NOK 128 million, compared to NOK 181 million Q3 2019, leading to earnings per share of NOK 0.31, compared to 0.44 in the third quarter last year.
B2Holding invested NOK 264 million in new portfolios in third quarter. All investments in the quarter were forward flow transactions in unsecured portfolios. The total gross ERC was NOK 24.6 billion at end of quarter.
At the end of the third quarter, B2Holding had EUR 329 million in liquidity reserve. After the quarter end, B2Holding ASA has increased its financial flexibility with a new bridge facility of EUR 100 million and an extension of the RCF with one year. The Group was in line with the original RCF covenants by end of Q3 2020 and expects compliance going forward.
The Group had a currency adjusted cost saving of NOK 71 million in the third quarter compared to first quarter 2020, in accordance with the cost saving targets announced in the first quarter presentation.
“The third quarter showed better performance than expected, and I am once again very impressed by the effort shown by our employees and by their response to the pandemic. Going forward, I am cautiously optimistic on the back of a solid quarter. However, we have recently seen a second wave of the pandemic, and this serves as a reminder that this crisis is by no means over. Nevertheless, we have a healthy balance sheet, and through the renegotiated agreement with our banks, we are well positioned to meet the future” said Erik J. Johnsen, CEO of B2Holding ASA.
Looking ahead, B2Holding expects that investment levels will remain modest in the fourth quarter with primarily forward flow purchases in Northern Europe and Poland. The Group is observing some early signals of decreasing prices in the NPL market and expect increasing volumes in the first half of 2021.
For further information, please see the Q3 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, Tuesday 3 November at 08:30 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/20201103_3
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 Third quarter presentation 2020
B2Holding ASA Third quarter report 2020
