LOLC Group posts solid growth in second quarter

LOLC Group reported strong growth for the second quarter with income for the three months almost doubling when compared with the same period of the previous year.

The Group income for the 3 months increased by 96% to Rs. 2,706 mn from Rs. 1,381 million. The income for the nine months increased by 76% as against the previous year to Rs. 4,666 mn.

The financial product portfolio offered by the LOLC Group includes finance and operating leases, hire purchases, loans, Islamic financing, debt factoring, invoice discounting, working capital loans and micro finance loans as well as insurance brokerage services, savings and fixed deposits, resident and non resident foreign currency accounts (RFC & NRFC). The fleet management services offered by LOLC includes vehicles for short term as well as long term hire.

The Group’s operating profit before net interest cost for the quarter more than doubled to Rs. 1,954 million from Rs. 896 million last year, an increase of 118%. The operating profit for the quarter increased to Rs. 314 million, an increase of 174% from the previous year. The profit after tax for the quarter increased to Rs. 279 mn after providing Rs. 78 million as corporate tax.

The Group’s operating profit before net interest cost for the six months to September increased to Rs. 3,267 mn from Rs. 1,749 mn last year, an increase of 87%, while the profit after tax increased by 55% to Rs. 425 million.

The LOLC Group’s provisioning for doubtful debt for the quarter was at the same level as last year, at Rs. 77 mn and the provisioning for the six months was Rs. 150 mn with greater emphasis placed on collections and containing non performing loans.

Commenting on the performance for the six months to September, Group Managing Director Kapila Jayawardena said that LOLC was able to achieve strong growth during these volatile times by way of careful management of the portfolio through sound credit practices and risk mitigation strategies, a healthy product mix and the continued confidence of customers in LOLC as a provider of financial solutions as well as the effort of its committed staff members.