Lasco Financial reports profit for 9 months at $222 million.
Profit after tax, suffered a decline in the third quarter, falling to $54.7 million from $62 million in 2016, as revenues increased by 36 percent to $405 million from $298 million in the 2016 period. The results reflect just one month’s of CrediScotia’s operation.
Responding to the growth in the December quarter results, Lasco’s Managing director, Jacinth Hall-Tracey stated in her report to shareholders, “This is attributed to seasonally strong remittance and cambio inflows bolstered by the income from its new acquisition of CreditScotia, renamed LASCO Microfinance. After recognizing some direct expenses for the acquisition and normal seasonal operational increases, profit from operations for the quarter closed at $91.4 million, an increase of 18.5 percent.” Interest cost associated with the funding of the acquisition was pushed up by $20 million in the quarter and reduced the positive gains in operating profit below pretax profit in 2016 of $75 million to $69 million.
Administrative and other expenses, jumped a sharp 63 percent to $179 million in the third quarter, but for the nine months, it rose by a more moderate 41 percent, to $531 million, well ahead of the increased revenues. Marketing cost rose 22 percent in the quarter to $135 million and 20 percent for the nine months, to $389 million.
Total assets jumped from $1.55 billion at the end of March 2017 to $3.3 billion with the acquisition of the CrediScotia shares, funded by $1.27 billion from by short-term loans, from related companies. The short-term loans will be repaid in full from a long term instrument being arranged.
Access Financial has assets of $3.3 billion at September 2017.
The acquisition pushed Lasco’s assets to the same amount that Access Financial had at the end of September. There are two differences, Access Financial is valued by the stock market at twice the market value of Lasco’s market value of $6.6 billion, with Access at $11.55 billion. Access’s loan portfolio stood at $2.68 billion at September while Lasco is less than $1.5 billion at the end of December last year.
According to the quarterly report, in the coming months, the loan business will be combined into the subsidiary company. The combined businesses own a network of 13 branches, a large customer base and a billion dollar loan portfolio.
The company looks like it will end 2018 fiscal year with profits around $300 million level with earnings per share of 25 cents. The stock last traded on the Junior Market of the Stock Exchange at$5.24 at a PE around 20 times current fiscal year’s earning, but the focus will be on the next fiscal year when the full benefits of the acquisition of the CrediScotia is fully reflected in the results and one off cost are removed.
