KRUK – two years on the stock exchange and another year of excellent performance!18-03-2013

KRUK – two years on the stock exchange and another year of excellent performance!

In 2012, the Group saw another year of rapid growth. In the last two years on the stock market, KRUK has increased its net profit by 125%. In 2012 and 2011, KRUK made a total investment of PLN 878m in debt portfolios which offer very strong prospects for future profits. The nominal value of debts purchased by the Group since the start of its operations is PLN 14.1bn.

• KRUK Group in 2012:
  • Net profit of PLN 81m – up by 22% year on year
  • Revenue of PLN 343m – up by 25% year on year
  • Operating profit of PLN 136.7m – up by 42% year on year
  • Cash EBITDA of PLN 292.3m – up by 38% year on year
• PLN 309m-worth of investments in 53 debt portfolios with a total nominal value of PLN 3.6bn in 2012
• PLN 451m in recoveries – up by 32% year on year
• Stable financing – PLN 260m available under bank facilities, PLN 427m-worth of outstanding bonds (as at the end of 2012)
• Strong ROE of 26%

KRUK Group – consolidated financial highlights

* Cash EBITDA = EBITDA + recoveries from purchased debt portfolios – revenue from collection of purchased debt portfolios

“We ended the year 2012 with excellent results. The financial performance we delivered was even better than in the record-setting 2011. The strong ROE, at 26% as at the end of the year, is particularly worth noting. This ability to achieve above-average return on equity is what distinguishes the Group. Poland's entire credit management market has seen a very successful year. We estimate the nominal value of the debt purchase market in Poland to have risen by approximately 16% between 2011 and 2012," says Piotr Krupa, President of the KRUK Management Board.

KRUK enjoys the largest shares of the Polish and Romanian debt purchase markets. By amount of expenditure incurred to purchase debt portfolios, KRUK has secured 20% and 38%, respectively.

In a ranking* by Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet, KRUK emerges as the undisputed leader on the Polish credit management market. The total nominal value of debts acquired by the Group in Poland in 2012 as part of its credit management services or as part of debt purchases was PLN 5.5bn. This is more than the aggregate value of cases accepted or purchased for collection by its four largest competitors in the ranking. In 2012, the KRUK Group purchased debt with a nominal value of PLN 2.5bn, representing 27% of the total nominal value of debt portfolios put up for sale in Poland. This figure was more than twice as high as that recorded by the Group's largest competitor, who came second in the ranking. The KRUK Group remains the unquestionable leader of the credit management segment in Poland. In 2012, the nominal value of debts outsourced to the Group for fee-based collection was approximately PLN 3bn. The second largest player in Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet's ranking achieved less than 40% of that figure.

*The ranking included entities which provided Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet with access to data on the nominal value of debts accepted for collection and debts purchased.

Source: In-house data based on the article “Akcjonariusze windykatorów mają powody do optymizmu” (Shareholders of debt collection companies find reasons to be optimistic) in the Gazeta Giełdy Parkiet of February 18th 2013 and KRUK S.A.'s estimates (for OTHER AGENCIES).

“We are thrilled to have become the leader among debt management agencies. Despite the backdrop of fierce competition, we are seeing the effects of having implemented our amicable settlement strategy, a solution unique in Europe and probably the world. Our amicable approach to debtors, combined with efforts to make debt repayment as easy as possible, is key to delivering strong operational efficiency," says Piotr Krupa.

In 2012, Rejestr Dłużników ERIF Biuro Informacji Gospodarczej S.A. generated just under PLN 5m in revenue, which represented an increase of over PLN 2m on the previous year. The ERIF database is growing rapidly. As at the end of 2012, the number of accounts had soared past 1.35m, and their value exceeded PLN 7bn. ERIF is the only agency in Poland whose database is regularly reviewed by an independent auditor; as a result of these reviews a report on the status and structure of the data is produced and published. The growing scale of RD ERIF’s business improves the effectiveness of KRUK’s operations by increasing the payment discipline among persons entered on the debtors list.

In 2012, the Group's revenue from the provision of NOVUM loans almost trebled compared with 2011. As part of the service, the Group grants short-term cash loans to former debtors who have a track record of repaying their liabilities to the Group in a timely manner. The number of NOVUM loans advanced rose by 56% yoy.

The Group is also rapidly growing on foreign markets. In August 2012, we launched our debt management operations in Slovakia, and in October we acquired our first portfolios there in an independent transaction. The total amount spent on debt portfolios in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2012 was PLN 27m, which represented 8% of the total expenditure incurred on the two markets. After a year and a half of gathering experience and developing insight into the Slovak and Czech markets, we are set to expand our debt purchasing and fee-based credit management activities there.

More than 30% of the Group's revenue in 2012 came from foreign markets. In Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Group purchased a total of 53 portfolios from financial institutions and telecommunications companies for PLN 309m. Purchased debts included three portfolios of corporate debt to banks.

“The strategy we follow provides for expansion into new markets and steady growth in the revenue generated outside Poland. In the past year we began to research several new markets with well-developed consumer finance industries, which are, or have the potential to become, very interesting expansion targets for a credit management company," adds Piotr Krupa.

In 2012, both the Group and its managers won praise for many aspects of our operations, as evidenced by the numerous awards and distinctions.

• Bulls and Bears 2011 – Award for the most successful IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2011.
• Effie Award 2012 –The “We help pay your debts" media campaign launched by KRUK received the silver award in the banking category. This was the first time in the history of the media market in Poland, and perhaps also globally, that a campaign organised by a credit management company was singled out for this prestigious award.
• “The Best Annual Report 2011” – Recognised as one of the most useful for readers in the banks and financial institutions category.
• Piotr Krupa, President of the KRUK Management Board, was among the ten finalists of the 10th edition of the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 contest organised by Ernst&Young.
• Book of Lists 2012 – Top position in the ranking of credit management companies.
• Best Product for Your Business 2012 – KRUK was named the Best Product for Your Business by the Gazeta Finansowa in the debt collection category.
• Good Company 2012 (Dobra Firma 2012) – The KRUK Group joined the 20 most dynamic and effective Polish businesses, as part of the prestigious annual ‘Lista 2000’ ranking of the best Polish companies.
• Złoty Laur Klienta 2012 (Golden Laurel 2012) – This award attests to the popularity of the brand and the positive opinion it enjoys among customers. ‘Laur Klienta’ is the largest consumer award programme in Poland.
• TOP BRAND 2013 in the ‘LAUR KLIENTA/KONSUMENTA’ contest – The Top Brand award is given based on how well a given brand fared in the previous editions of the Laur Konsumenta contest. KRUK has been awarded a Złoty Laur each year since 2008.

KRUK has also initiated the Our Debts campaign – on November 17th of each year the Company organises National Day Without Debts, which is designed to educate the public on household financial management and ways of getting out of debt.

In 2012, for the first time in its history the Day Without Debts was concurrently held in three countries – in Poland (fourth edition), Romania (second edition), and the Czech Republic (first edition). In November 2012, Rejestr Dłużników ERIF BIG launched the online information site infoPozytywni.pl, which is a platform designed to encourage people in Poland to build good histories with credit agencies.