Fitch affirms Central Finance at ‘A+(lka)’
Fitch Ratings-Colombo/Hong Kong/Singapore-13 November 2012: Fitch
Ratings Lanka has affirmed Central Finance Company PLC’s (CF) rating at
‘A+(lka)’. The Outlook is Stable. Simultaneously, Fitch has affirmed
CF’s senior unsecured debt at ‘A+(lka)’, subordinated debt at ‘A(lka)’
and commercial paper at ‘F1(lka)’.
CF’s ratings factor in its strong franchise and capitalization
supported by robust profitability. CF’s franchise developed over its
55-year operating history. At end-2011, CF was the largest licensed
finance company (LFC) holding 13% of LFC assets in Sri Lanka.
An upgrade of CF’s rating is contingent upon greater product and
funding diversity together with better funding flexibility commensurate
with higher category peers. Conversely, a sustained weakening in
capitalization due to a deterioration in asset quality or profitability
could result in a downgrade.
CF has been successful in sustaining its strong capitalization ratios
in the face of high growth. Its equity/asset ratio of 23.0% at
end-September 2012 was higher than that of peers and was supported by
robust profitability and high capital retention. Its statutory Tier 1
capital adequacy ratio of 22.4% also compared well with local peers.
Profitability remained strong with ROA increasing to 5.2% in FY12
(FY11: 4.4%) despite a narrowing of net interest margins (NIMs) during
the year. This was mainly due to lower taxes (because of a reduction in
the corporate and financial value added tax rates from FY12) but CF also
benefitted from improved operating efficiency (as the company leveraged
on newly opened branches) and lower credit costs (owing to better asset
quality). NIMs were squeezed in FY12 by rising funding costs in the
latter half of the year. However, Fitch expects NIMs to widen in FY13 as
the effect of revised lending rates feeds into higher yields.
CF’s deposit growth of 13.9% in FY12 did not keep pace with strong
loan growth of 38.1% during the year, which led the company to opt for
increased institutional borrowings. Due to the strength of its franchise
CF has in the past been able to mobilize deposits at a considerably
lower cost than peers. However, balancing increased funding requirements
while managing funding costs could be challenging in FY13.
CF adopts a conservative risk profile with a credit portfolio
expansion of 11% in H113 (FY11-FY12: two-year compound annual growth
rate of 34%). Although high, this level of growth was significantly
lower than that of large peers (two-year CAGR above 50%). Growth stemmed
from both leasing and hire purchase (HP) portfolios, with LFCs meeting
pent up credit demand, as well as satisfying the excess demand from
banks due to a regulatory credit ceiling imposed on banks in 2012.
Asset quality has been improving supported by an enhanced credit
environment and greater recovery efforts. CF’s gross three-month
non-performing loan ratio stood at 4.9% at end-H113 (FYE12: 4.1%), down
from 7.0% in FY11. Maintaining these ratios could be challenging given a
gradually slowing macroeconomy and rising interest rates. Fitch believes
NPLs could rise in FY13 unless greater efforts are taken to prevent NPL
slippage as the loan book seasons.
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