KRUK reports excellent YTD performance

The KRUK Group, Polish leader of the debt management market in Central Europe, recorded more than PLN 257m in Q3 2016 and PLN 701m YTD in recoveries from purchased debt portfolios. KRUK also purchased new debt portfolios on four European markets. The expenditure was PLN 205m in Q3 2016 and PLN 936m YTD.

At PLN 257m, cash recoveries from purchased debt portfolios in Q3 2016 were 25% higher year on year, marking the best result in KRUK’s history. Between January and September, recoveries totalled nearly PLN 701m.

“In the past, the third quarter was rarely our strongest. It was different this year, as the last three months turned out to be the best ever. This good performance suggests that the end of the year should also be very successful in terms of recoveries,” said Piotr Krupa, President of the Management Board of KRUK S.A.

In Q3 2016, KRUK spent PLN 205m on 16 new debt portfolios with a nominal value of PLN 2bn. All purchases made by KRUK by the end of September exceeded PLN 936m, which was spent on 60 portfolios on six European markets: Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Italy.

This figure includes the agreement on debt portfolio purchase as part of the partnership with International Finance Corporation in Romania. Comprising debts with a nominal value of PLN 2.6m (nominal value of the entire portfolio) for the price of PLN 155m. The transaction has been KRUK’s largest ever investment in unsecured debt on the Romanian market.

The Q3 expenditure figure does not include another portfolio, purchased in Italy. At the end of September, KRUK announced winning an auction to purchase a portfolio with a nominal value of EUR 930m (approximately PLN 4bn) from one of Italy’s major banks. KRUK expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter.

“Now at the beginning of the fourth quarter, we have practically achieved the full-year target of spending PLN 1bn on new portfolios. However, we do not plan to slow down the pace and we are taking part in new auctions. Europe is opening up new investment opportunities for us, and we want to be ready to sign deals with the largest banks on the continent. With this in mind, we will continue to develop financing in the euro. We have already taken some important steps in that direction. In the third quarter, we completed a private placement worth EUR 20m. In addition, at the end of September, we passed a resolution approving our fourth bond programme with a value of up to PLN 500m, as part of which we can also issue euro-denominated bonds to the public. I believe the largest investments are yet to come, which is why we are now making arrangements to have access to the required financing sources,” said Piotr Krupa.