Q3 2025 Lion Finance Group PLC Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Lion Finance Group PLC (FRA:GEB) reported a strong 22% growth in its loan book in constant currency, with even stronger growth in Armenia.
- The company achieved a profit of GEL547 million for the quarter, marking an 8% increase compared to the previous year.
- Return on average equity stood at a robust 28%, indicating strong profitability.
- The cost-to-income ratio improved to 35.3%, showcasing operational efficiency.
- The company maintained a low cost of credit risk ratio at 0.5%, reflecting robust asset quality.
- Geopolitical instability and domestic political tensions in the region pose uncertainties to the economic outlook.
- There was a slight uptick in inflation in Georgia, with the headline number reaching 5.2% year-on-year in October.
- Net noninterest income was subdued, with net fee and commission income growing only by 4.8% for the group.
- The cost-to-income ratio saw a slight year-over-year increase from 34.8% to 35.3%, indicating some pressure on operational efficiency.
- The company experienced a slight pickup in non-performing loan ratios, particularly in the SME sector.
Hello everyone. Welcome to Lion Finance PLC's third quarter results call. My name is Nini Arshakuni. I'm Head of Investor Relations, and I will be the moderator for today's call. I'm joined on this call by Archil Gachechiladze, our Group CEO; Hovhannes Toroyan, who's the Chief Financial Officer of Ameriabank, our banking subsidiary in Armenia; and Akaki Liqokeli, our Group Economist, who will be covering the macro.
We're pleased to report another set of solid results for the quarter with very strong customer franchise growth across our business operations in Georgia and Armenia. Our loan book grew 22% in constant currency. It was even more -- with even stronger growth in the Armenia operations.
Overall, our profit for the quarter amounted to GEL547 million, an 8% increase versus the prior year. Return on average equity stood at solid 28%. Cost to income was 35.3%, an improvement versus the prior quarter. And our cost of credit risk ratio was 0.5%, and we maintained robust asset quality across the whole business.
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