Fitch revises Abans Finance to ‘A(lka)’

Fitch has revised the national long-term rating of Abans Finance PLC (AFP), a member of the Abans group, from ‘BB+(lka)’ to ‘A(lka)’, following the  revision of the national long-term rating of the parent company, Abans PLC, from ‘BBB+(lka)’ to ‘AA(lka)’. 

AFP recorded a strong performance for the first half of FY 20/21, amidst the challenging economic landscape due to the COVID pandemic. The company has recorded a net profit after tax of Rs.63.6 million for 1H of the FY 20/21 period ended on September 31, 2020, compared to Rs.27.7 million recorded in the corresponding year, achieving a year-on-year growth of 130 percent. 

Despite being adhered to the Central Bank debt moratorium guidelines and taking a day one loss on first moratorium, the aforesaid performance is attributable to the restrategised activities, which include timely replacement of new facilities with a time-tested asset-backed new portfolio, company’s technology-driven recovery and lending practices, which were more resilient during the COVID-19 period and improved cost efficiencies implemented across the organisation. 

Further, the diversification of the lending portfolio into various sectors and geographic areas, together with the strategies used in managing the concentration risk, has further stabilised the quality of the lending portfolio and facilitated in maintaining a healthy liquidity position.      

Despite the economic turbulence and COVID-19 pandemic, the company is in line to record a comparatively higher sustainable profit in the 2020/2021 financial year.