Recommended Final Dividend of HK10 cents
VCREDIT Holdings Limited (VCREDIT or the Group; HKG: 2003), a leading independent online consumer finance provider in China, announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2022 (the Year).
During the Year, the Group achieved solid performance from operations in line with its expectations despite headwinds such as COVID-19, an evolving macro-economic environment, and policy and regulatory changes. The Group reported a total income of RMB3,119.3 million, and an adjusted Net Profit of RMB537.4 million. The Board has recommended the distribution of a Final Dividend of HK10 cents per share of the company.
Business Review
The COVID-19 pandemic had influence on the Group’s business approach as related measures evolved. A zero-COVID policy was in place for most of the Year and lockdowns in cities such as Shanghai were experienced in 1H 2022, eventually pivoting to a major nationwide loosening with most COVID-19 measures being relaxed at the end of the Year. The Group continued adjusting its business strategy and model to cope with changing market situation. It also evolved its risk management model to reflect market developments and behavioral changes to ensure the competitiveness and demand for its products amongst targeted higher quality prime and near-prime borrowers.
As a data intelligence-embraced organization, it constantly refines its operational efficiency and enhances target customer identification and market penetration using dynamic data analytics and by connecting with high-quality customer acquisition channels.
Loan origination volume reached a record high of RMB52.19 billion for the Year, representing increase of 28.2% compared to the year ended 31 December 2021.
Continue to target customer life-time value higher
The Group remains focused on improving the user experience to retain high quality customers by optimizing its products, services, and processes while strengthening technological capabilities. As a result, 84.0% of its loan volume for the Year was contributed by repeat borrowers. There has also been a meaningful increase in new borrowers, especially in 2H 2022, delivered rapid growth in loan volume. The number of registered users had expanded to 126.8 million by the year’s end.
To reach and stay connected with more of its target customers, the Group has expanded its network of acquisition channels and industry platforms and improved its customer capture methodologies. Collaborations with channels, such as OPPO, Xiaomi, and China Telecom, are proving mutually beneficial. To improve the customer experience on its digital platform, the Group continued to refine its online APPs along with various loan facilitation and post-loan management services.
Asset quality remains robust over the long term
2022 was a challenging year. To address this, the Group has implemented a new generation of multi-source scorecards and timely adjusted its credit policies to reduce the systemic risks as well as adjusted its customer segmentation to re-balance long-term revenue and risk, with more resilient portfolio.
Among the asset quality indicators, the Group was able to maintain its 2022 first payment delinquency ratio at a low industry-wide level of approximately 0.43%. Its M1-M3 ratio and M3+ ratio declined from 4.01% and 2.39% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 3.53% and 1.77% in the fourth quarter of 2022, respectively.
Stable financial institutional partners enable the Group to build a sustainable compliant business
By the end of 2022, the Company maintained effective relationships with 92 external funding partners, including 20 nationwide joint-stock commercial banks, consumer finance companies, and trusts, which constituted a diverse and affluent funding pool to support its goals.
With this foundation, allied to third-party guarantee companies and asset management companies capable of providing funding flexibility and protection for its funding partners. The Group emphasized on pure loan facilitation model and achieved triple-digit year-over-year growth in both loan volume and partner numbers. Moreover, to strengthen relationships with funding partners, the Group continued its collaborative work with them to explore potential technology cooperation opportunities to empower their digital capabilities.
Outlook
As an innovation-oriented and technology-driven finance company, the Group will proactively hone its business strategies and upscale its technology. In addition to growing its existing consumer finance operation in China, the Group shall also look to expand and diversity its business strategies by investing or collaborating in or acquiring similar, related or complementary business and industries in other jurisdictions including Hong Kong, South-East Asia and Europe.
Going forward, the Group intends to continue to streamline and extend its credit solutions to better serve customers, thus improving brand recognition, as well as customer loyalty and creditworthiness profile of its customers. The Group will also enhance risk management capability through evolving technology and artificial intelligence; strengthen long-term collaborations with licensed financial institutional partners and other business partners; ensure its business is conducted within applicable regulatory parameters to achieve regulation-centric sustainability; review and assess potential business prospects and invest or collaborate in or acquire similar, related or complementary business and industries in China and other jurisdictions; and cultivate dynamic enterprise value and culture, grow in-house talents.
About VCREDIT Holdings Limited (HKG: 2003)
VCREDIT Holdings Limited (HKG: 2003) (VCREDIT) is a leading player in China’s consumer finance industry with over 10 years of track record. The Company caters to prime and near-prime borrowers underserved by traditional financial institutions by online consumption products. To match the funding needs for these products, the Company primarily engages institutional funding partners through three types of sustainable and scalable funding structures: trust lending, credit-enhanced loan facilitation and pure loan facilitation. Through such funding structures, VCREDIT provides institutional funding partners with solutions at varying levels of risk discretion and flexible profit-sharing arrangements. Website: https://www.vcredit.com/
For enquiries, please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies Asia:
Joanne Lam / Jennifer Wong
Tel: (852) 2894 6211 / (852) 2894 6255
Email: vcredit@hkstrategies.com