Estonian international fintech company IuteCredit Group increased its issued loan volume by 86%, finishing 2019 with EUR 152 million. The increased volume is the result of IuteCredit’s innovative technical solutions to speed up risk assessment for loans.
Technology-driven growth
According to CEO of IuteCredit Europe, Tarmo Sild, almost all financial indicators of the group increased significantly within the year of 2019. Loans issued in five different countries were up from EUR 82 to EUR 152 million, interest income was up almost by 108%, from EUR 22.6 to EUR 47.0 million. Also, the group’s EBITDA increased by 56.2% to EUR 20.2 million. IuteCredit’s net profit for the period increased to EUR 8.4 million.
“This growth is driven by smart technology and high-level customer service. High-tech companies are no longer miracles today. The key to success is the ability to maintain the human dimension of customer service, even when a significant part of the work is done by machines,” Sild explained and added that as a company from Estonia, the success story of e-Estonia on which the company relies, also helps a lot.
The Kosovo licence situation
Tarmo Sild believes that the regulator’s decision from 6 December 2019 to revoke the company’s microfinancing licence in Kosovo and immediate liquidation of the local subsidiary business IuteCredit Kosovo was illegal and will be remedied eventually, and adequately. “The situation in Kosovo remains contested, while we are making sure it will not create distractions for the Group’s management. We will be focused on growing the business profitably,” he stated.
At this point IuteCredit Group has taken the Kosovo case to the international arbitral court, working to solve the matter on international grounds. The Kosovo case impacted IuteCredit Group’s business by EUR 5.2 million in the last quarter of 2019.
2020 outlook
For 2020, IuteCredit aims to grow the volume of loans issued by more than EUR 210 million and the number of customers to 300 000. This corresponds to total revenue of 70 million or more. “In order to receive these results, we will contribute to growing the competence of our teams, in order to analyze data and use all opportunities of our technical platform. We also believe in great customer relations – clients remain with us and keep returning to us since the benefits and experience they receive from IuteCredit fit their needs and expectations,” Sild explained.
“Another important development for us is the fact that IuteCredit has two new operational country businesses in the Group from which we expect fast growth in new markets during the next periods – both in Bulgaria and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, our product innovations contribute not only to fast and easy loan applications but also to completely new benefits for our customers. We are particularly proud to be the first financial company in Macedonia to offer debit cards from MasterCard,” Sild explained. The full report for 12M/2019 and outlook for 2020 is available here.
About the current market situation
IuteCredit CEO Tarmo Sild comments: “We are experiencing a global force majeure. It means that we are adapting, along with our customers and partners. At this point, we focus primarily on the repayments and on existing customers. Cash is kind. Work at home has become the new normal. Overall economic activity is contracting. We see the changes occurring in Albania, Moldova, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria markets, as local authorities are trying to be on top of the very dynamic situation and achieve the best possible outcome in the circumstances. It would be sensible to say that all industries and countries are reacting to it and waiting for what will happen next. We are ready to work through it, thanks to the experience of our teams, continuous processes we have in place and the expectation that customers will eventually repay their loans”.
About IuteCredit
IuteCredit, headquartered in Estonia, is an international microcredit and fintech company focusing mostly on instalment loans, including car loans. The average loan period is 18 months. IuteCredit has become a leading microcredit company in Europe, with a balance sheet of € 100 million and more than 200 000 active customers. The company raises its funding through publicly traded bonds that are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
IuteCredit also operates in Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
To obtain exposure to IuteCredit’s loans in different countries, investors are able to invest in loans issued by IuteCredit Albania, Moldova or Macedonia, where repayments to Mintos investors depend on the borrower’s payments.
Editor’s note: currently there is no force majeure situation with regard to the fulfilment of IuteCredit obligations to investors on Mintos.
