Manila Bulletin

Home Credit records growth

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Prague-based finance technology (FinTech) company Home Credit Philippine­s (HCPH) has reported a threefold year-on-year growth in receivable­s in 2017, capping a landmark year that saw HCPH double its customer base from one to two million, and expand its operations nationwide.

Ever since its entry into the Philippine­s in 2013, the company—which partners with leading retailers and manufactur­ers to provide in-store financing for smartphone­s and goods— has enjoyed continuous growth in sales. From modest sales of P29 million in 2013,

Home Credit’s revenues had grown to P4 billion in 2016, and grew further to P14 billion in 2017. The company now has a 2.5 million Filipino customer base, of which more than 1.5 million have active loans, with receivable­s of P14 billion as of the end of 2017.

For this year, HCPH has already signed more than 800,000 new loans. Its highest performing month so far this 2018 is April where it yielded more than 190,000 new active loans.

HCPH’s results come after four years of “heavy investing” in the Philippine­s since opening shop in Manila in 2013, as HCPH beefed up its IT infrastruc­ture, expanded its offices and call centers, and grew its workforce to over 9,000 employees.

According to HCPH chief executive AnnicaWits­chard, the company’s performanc­e in 2017 is their new benchmark for what is already considered a steep rate of growth in the local consumer finance industry.

“From day one, our mindset was to grow big and grow fast, while changing the landscape with our financiall­y inclusive products,” Witschard said, noting that Home Credit caters to unbanked as well as first-time borrowers. “Our remarkable growth and expansion in 2017 tells us that we are on track in achieving our goals. And our results in 2017 tell us that our business strategy is an effective one.”

The company’s steady growth has recently earned the recognitio­n of the Internatio­nal Finance Magazine (IFM) which named HCPH as the fastest growing consumer finance company in the Philippine­s.

IFM Awards is an event that recognizes and honors individual­s and organizati­ons that make significan­t contributi­ons to the internatio­nal finance industry.

HCPH chief finance officer ZdenekJank­ovsky said the company’s robust sales, effective risk and cost management, and funding have played key roles in HCPH’s business performanc­e.

“We’ve been successful in leveraging our strengths, especially in risk mitigation, sales, and funding, while applying best practices from Home Credit Group’s more than twenty years of experience globally.”

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