The first quarter of 2020 saw LOLC Group surpassing the US$ 1 billion in equity to become one of the first corporate in the country with a billion-dollar equity base.
The Group recorded an impressive PBT of Rs. 12 billion and PAT of Rs. 10 billion in the first three months of the current financial year. This includes a negative goodwill of Rs. 5.2 billion from the acquisition of one of the largest sugar production plantation companies in Africa, reaffirming the Group’s strategy in international investments.
LOLC thrived to showcase uninterrupted financial stability with an asset base of Rs. 1.14 trillion along with an equity base of Rs. 190 billion.
The regional expansion of the Group has also delivered extremely strong results, diversifying and balancing the exposure LOLC had to the local market.
LOLC was the first financial institution in Sri Lanka to venture offshore in microfinance with its maiden investment in Cambodia’s largest MFI- PRASAC. With an ROE of 28%, a portfolio of US$ 2.4 billion, a deposit base of US$ 1.6 billion and a significant contribution to the Group’s bottom line, PRASAC offers substantial return on investment in dollar terms through the Group’s 70% holding in PRASAC.
Although a relatively new entrant to the Cambodian MFI performers, LOLC Cambodia (LOCAM) has now positioned itself as the most profitable MFI in Cambodia with an ROE of 32%, ROA of 4.2%, and the fourth largest portfolio and deposit base of US$ 621 million and US$ 354 million, respectively.
LOLC Myanmar, a Greenfield operation and the first of its kind from Sri Lanka in Myanmar, has now become the third largest MFI in the country with an asset base of US$ 64 million, a portfolio of US$ 50 million, and a growing deposit book of $ 8 million.
The Group Managing Director and CEO Kapila Jayawardena stated: “We are extremely satisfied with our financial performance. LOLC is now a trillion-asset, a billion-equity company with consistent healthy profitability.”
LOLC was also invited by the Government of Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman and offered the majority stake of the Pak Oman Microfinance Bank.
Last year, LOLC invested in Indonesia by acquiring the controlling interest in PT Sarana Sumut Ventura (SSV), a venture capital business with one branch. In just a few months post investment, LOLC has established a brand-new micro book of US$ 2.5 million with 29 branches in the pipeline in the regions of Java and Sumatra Islands.
LOLC Group also recorded steady progress in the non-financial sector through diversified investments in growth sectors both in Sri Lanka and overseas, in Sierra Leone and Maldives. Sunbird Bio-energy Sierra Leone Ltd. is the highlight of the overseas expansion strategy, comprising 23,500 hectares of an integrated farm that generates power, sugar and bioethanol, and is one of the largest agricultural projects in the African continent.
Other sectors in the Group delivered moderate results with the leisure sector suffering a significant impact on the operating hotels’ occupancy levels since the April terrorist attacks.
The trading sector, consisting of the Browns Group, and the plantation sector saw a dip in their performance in line with the negative economic pressure prevalent in the country.
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