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ASX RELEASE
28 February 2011
Market Update
FY 2011 Half Year Results and Status of Debt Facility
Half-year results
Ask Funding Limited (ASX:AKF) reported a net loss after tax (NPAT) for the six months ended
31 December 2010 of $0.03 million down from a profit of $0.32 million for the previous
corresponding period.
Key points include:
•
Normalised operating loss before tax down 110% to $0.23 million
•
Non-operating profit of $0.15 million from a partial recovery of the previously impaired
receivable arising from the sale of shares and options in Impact Holdings (UK) Plc.
•
Net loss after tax down 109% to $0.03 million
•
Net interest and fee income down 26% to $4.95 million as a result of decrease in the
average gross loan book and increased borrowing costs
•
Impairment expenses relating to loans and advances together with associated recovery
expenses increased to $1.85 million from $1.0 million in the previous corresponding
period reflecting on-going fluctuations in values of security underlying a number of
Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding loans and concerns regarding broader economic
conditions
•
Gross Loan Book down 7.3% to $56.4 million from $60.8 million at the end of the
previous corresponding period
•
Net Debt at $33.9 million
•
No interim dividend declared
A detailed explanation of each of these points has been included in the Review of Operations
and Financial Results included in the Directors Report for the six months ended 31 December
2010, a copy of which is attached to this release.
Status of debt facility
At 31 December 2010 the Company breached one of its obligations under its Senior
Syndicated Debt Facility being compliance with the interest cover financial covenant which is
required to be no less than 2.0 :1 on a rolling twelve month basis. The Company has
subsequently received correspondence from its financier, Bank of Western Australia Limited
(“BankWest”) indicating that it will enter into a waiver in respect of this breach however the
Company must agree to conditions which include but are not limited to:
(a) an immediate reduction of the Facility limit from $57.1 million to $40.0 million;
(b) advice to the Bank of its future strategy for the business on or before 8 April 2011; and
(c) formal documentation of the waiver and conditions.
Following the provision of the details of the future strategy, BankWest will undertake a
review of the Facility in light of that strategy.
Ongoing strategic review
The strategic review commenced by the Board on 18 November 2010 to evaluate of the
operations and strategic direction of the Company’s business and investigate the full range of
options available for maximising shareholder value is continuing and notwithstanding the limited
restructure completed in early February 2011, the cost base continues to be scrutinised to identify
further opportunities for improving profitability. Additionally processes have been implemented to
accelerate the reduction in the proportion of the total gross loan book attributable to Matrimonial
and Inheritance Funding loans.
The Company will continue to keep the market informed in respect of its progress with this review.
ABOUT ASK FUNDING
Ask Funding Limited was the first pre-settlement lender to list on the Australian Securities
Exchange. The company’s main product offerings relate to:
•
Personal injury claims; and
•
Disbursement Funding for key legal firms and their clients.
For further information please contact:
Russell Templeton
Misha Collins
Managing Director
Non-executive director, strategic
Tel:
+ 61 (0) 7 3211 8000
and shareholder relations officer
Mobile:
+ 61 (0) 407 639 622
Mobile: + 61 (0)
451 078 770E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail:[email protected]
Ask Funding Limited Directors' report 31 December 2010
Directors' report
The directors present their report together with the consolidated interim financial report for the half-year ended 31 December 2010 and the review report thereon.
Directors
The following persons were directors of Ask Funding Limited during the half-year and up to the date of this report:
Mr Kenneth R Rich B Com, MBA, PNA
Chairperson since 1 July 2006 and Independent Non-Executive Director since 24 January 2005.
Mr Russell E Templeton LLB
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer since 16 November 2004.
Mr Misha A Collins CFA
Independent Non-Executive Director appointed 11 October 2010.
Mr Antony Love BCom, FAPI, FAICD
Deputy Chairperson and Independent Non-Executive Director since 17 May 2010.
Mr Gavin Partridge GAICD, M A Hons (Cantab)
Independent Non-Executive Director since 19 November 2009. Ms Alison Hill B Com, MBA, CA, FFin
Alternate Director for Mr Russell Templeton since 26 June 2009.
Review of operations
Loan Book Size and Split by Product
The gross loan book contracted by 7% to $56.4 million from $60.8 million at the end of the previous corresponding period. This decrease continues to reflect the strategy to re-weight the loan book and reduce exposure to the higher risk
Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding products and has been assisted by strong repayments in the Matrimonial product in the six months ended 31 December 2010. The gross loan book split by product and the underlying trend is highlighted in the following table:
31 December 2010 30 June 2010 31 December 2009 30 June 2009
Disbursement Funding 31% 23% 23% 20%
Personal Injury 33% 33% 31% 29%
Matrimonial 33% 41% 43% 49%
Inheritance Funding 3% 3% 3% 2%
31 December 2010 (continued) Review of operations (continued)
The increase in the allocation of the loan book to Disbursement Funding, particularly in the current period, is a clear indication of the Company’s success with its marketing strategies. A total of 39 Personal Injury law firms (30 June 2010: 30) across Australia are now utilising this product with another major law firm participating in a pilot program.
Earlier this month and as a part of the strategic review currently being undertaken the Company ceased to offer its Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding products. Accordingly this trend of increased weighting in the loan book to Disbursement Funding will continue in future periods.
Provisioning/Bad debts
Impairment and recovery costs (excluding impairment of non-loan receivables) incurred during the period of $1.9 million have increased by 84% from the previous corresponding period and have increased by 12% from that incurred in the six months ended 30 June 2010.
Impairment in the Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding products continued to be experienced during the current period primarily against loans originated prior to June 2008 as values in the underlying security (predominately property) continue to fluctuate and be affected by the broader economic conditions associated with the high Australian dollar, depressed tourism, increasing interest rates and more recently, major weather events in Queensland and Victoria. Whilst a
preliminary analysis by postcode indicates that no significant portion of securities held by the Company have been directly impacted by these weather events, it is anticipated that they will contribute to a further deterioration in the property market. Accordingly it is anticipated that the current level of provisioning against these products will not significantly decrease in the remainder of the 2011 financial year.
Impairment in the Personal Injury product during the period has remained consistent with historical levels and as expected with the higher gross return and non-recourse nature of this product whilst impairment in Disbursement Funding has remained low and reflects only those interest and fees not covered by law firm guarantees.
Debt Facility
On 26 October 2010 the Company achieved the implementation of a Senior Syndicated Facility Agreement with Bank of Western Australia (“BankWest”) as its cornerstone financier. This facility has a limit of $57.1 million, carries increased margins, tightened covenants and requires a reduction in BankWest’s participation of $20.0 million by 26 April 2012. The protracted nature of negotiations surrounding this facility, subsequent increased margins and expiry of interest rate swaps has resulted in an increased average cost of funds for the current period of 7.5% compared to 6.2% for the year ended 30 June 2010.
At 31 December 2010 the Company breached one of its obligations under the Syndicated Facility being compliance with the interest cover financial covenant which is required to be no less than 2.0:1 on a rolling 12 month basis. The Company has subsequently received correspondance from BankWest indicating it will enter into a waiver in respect of this breach however the Company must agree to conditions which include but are not limited to (a) an immediate reduction of the limit of the Senior Syndicated Debt Facility from $57.1 million to $40.0 million; (b) advice to the Bank of its future strategy for the business on or before 8 April 2011; and (c) formal documentation of the waiver and conditions. Additionally following the provision of the details of the future strategy, BankWest will undertake a review of the Facility in light of that strategy.
Advertising and Marketing
Advertising and marketing expenditure has been significantly reduced from the previous corresponding period as minimal direct consumer based advertising has been conducted in the current period. The focus in this period has instead been on marketing the Disbursement Funding product to Personal Injury law firms, improving brand awareness and consumer referrals from this lower cost distribution channel.
National Consumer Credit Protection Act
The National Consumer Credit Protection Act became operative from 1 July 2010 and has introduced significant additional obligations for credit providers. Since the legislation was introduced it has become clear these obligations severely impede the Company’s ability to offer the Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding products on a competitive basis without a substantial re-pricing of credit risk and increase in staffing and overheads to meet the additional obligations. Accordingly, and as announced earlier this month, the Company has ceased to offer these products. No material changes are required in respect of the Personal Injury and Disbursement Funding products.
Ask Funding has registered as a Credit Provider under the legislation and received its unconditional licence on 9 February
Ask Funding Limited Directors' report 31 December 2010 (continued) Review of operations (continued)
Outlook
At the Company’s Annual General Meeting on 18 November 2010 the Board advised that it was undertaking a review of the operations and strategic direction of the business to investigate the full range of options available for maximising, wherever possible, shareholder value.
Notwithstanding the ongoing nature of this review, the Board and Management have identified a number of opportunities to improve profitability through a business restructure, driven by the cessation of Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding products, which occurred on 3 February 2011 and a number of other cost reduction measures which have been
progressively implemented since December 2010, the impact of which will be reflected in the results for the second half of the 2011 financial year.
The Company’s focus on the Personal Injury and Disbursement Funding products will continue and it is expected that the increasing demand from Personal Injury law firms, together with a slowing in the repayment rate from Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding loans will result in the stabilisation in the size of the loan book in the remaining months of the 2011 financial year.
Financial results
The consolidated results for the six months attributable to the members of the Company are:
31 December 31 December
2010 2009
$000 $000
Revenue (net interest and fee income) 4,952 6,682
Expenses, excluding impairment and loan recovery expenses (3,334) (3,448)
Impairment of loans and advances (1,757) (792)
Impairment of receivable 150 (1,256)
Loan recovery expenses (92) (212)
Profit / (loss) before income tax (81) 974
Income tax benefit / (expense) 54 (654)
Net profit / (loss) attributable to members (27) 320
Loss after income tax
The net loss for the period of $0.03m represents a decrease of 109% over the previous corresponding period while normalised operating loss before tax of $0.2 million is a decrease of 110%. Earnings per share decreased from 0.5 cents to a loss of 0.04 cents.
The net loss for the period was significantly impacted by the reduction in revenue associated with the decrease in the average gross loan book, impairment of loans and advances and the increase in borrowing costs but has been boosted by $0.15 million as a result of the partial recovery of the receivable of $1.256 million relating to the sale of shares in Impact Holdings UK Plc which was fully impaired in the previous corresponding period.
Loss from operations
The protracted nature of the debt refinancing and the ongoing uncertainty as to availability of capital to the Company resulted in significant delays in the implementation of marketing strategies to stimulate demand for the Disbursement Funding and Personal Injury products. This led to the continued contraction in the gross loan book as strong cash inflows from loan repayments exceeded new advances and an associated reduction in gross interest and fee income.
The average gross loan book for the period was $58.6 million compared to $64.9 million for the previous corresponding period whilst gross interest margins per product have remained constant. Fee income, which reflects account servicing and re-assessment fees, decreased by 48% from the previous corresponding period largely due to the re-balancing of the loan book and corresponding reduction in the average size of eligible loans.
Interest expense increased by 3% to $1.5 million reflecting an increase in average cost of funds to 7.5% from 6.2% in the previous corresponding period. This increase reflects increased margins on the new debt facility and the expiry of interest rate swaps which had been in place since early 2009. Gross debt decreased to $36.0 million from $40.7 million at the end of the previous corresponding period.
31 December 2010 (continued) Financial results (continued)
Cash expenses decreased by 11% to $3.2 million from $3.6 million in the previous corresponding period due to a
reduction in marketing expenses of $0.9 million over the previous corresponding period as no direct consumer advertising campaigns were conducted in the current period and a number of other marketing strategies delayed during the debt refinancing period, a reduction of $0.2 million in IT development expenses and $0.1 million in recovery costs. However this reduction has been partially offset by:
an increase of $0.2 million in employee benefit expenses primarily as a result of additional contract staff hired to support permanent employees through the period whilst a number of scheduled enhancements to the base loan management system were completed. This level of activity has now ceased with total staff and contractors reduced to 24 at 31 December 2010.
an increase of $0.2 million in occupancy costs as a result of the relocation of the Brisbane office. The significant increase in impairment of loans and advances to $1.8 million from $0.8 million in the previous
corresponding period primarily reflects ongoing impairment in the Matrimonial and Inheritance Funding loans originated prior to June 2008 as values in the underlying security (predominately property) continue to fluctuate and be effected by the broader economic conditions associated with the high Australian dollar, depressed tourism, increasing interest rates and more recently, the major weather events in Queensland and Victoria.
Financial position
Consolidated net assets have decreased by 1% since 30 June 2010 to a total of $24.7 million with the 2010 final dividend of $0.2 million declared and paid during the period. This decrease is reflected primarily in the decrease in net loans and advances with increases in net debt offset by increases in tax assets.
No dividend has been paid or declared for the current period which is consistent with the previous corresponding period.
Cashflows and capital management
Consolidated cash flows from operations for the period ended 31 December 2010 have decreased to $0.5 million compared to $1.3 million in the previous corresponding period as a result of an increase in interest and other expenses paid and a decrease in interest and fees repaid. The cash flows from operations have been offset by a reduction in gross debt and payment of debt refinancing costs and dividend.
At 31 December 2010 Cash on Hand and Bank Deposits totalled $1.7m (30 June 2010: $3.9m) and Drawn Debt totalled $36.0m (30 June 2010: $37.0m) of the total Available Debt of $57.09m. Drawn Debt represents 58.7% of Total Assets (30 June 2010: 58.7%) and a gearing ratio of 58.4% (30 June 2010: 58.0%).
At 31 December 2010 the Company breached one of its obligations under the Senior Syndicated Debt Facility being compliance with the interest cover ratio which is required to be no less than 2.0:1 on a rolling 12 month basis.
Going concern
During the half-year ended 31 December 2010, and subsequent to half-year end, the Company has made a number of public announcements in respect of the on-going strategic review and the various options available to the Company which could include a run down of the loan book, with proceeds used to initially settle liabilities with residual funds paid to shareholders.
Additionally at 31 December 2010 the Company breached its interest cover financial covenant obligations under the Senior Syndicated Debt Facility and it is anticipated that this financial covenant may again be breached in subsequent months and therefore the Company is reliant on the on-going support of its financier, BankWest.
Notwithstanding the above, the directors and management of the Company have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as it is their current intention to continue to operate the Group as a going concern, and have prepared cash flow projections that support the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern and meet its obligations in the normal course of business subject to the on-going support of BankWest. In the event that the Group does not continue as a going concern, such as in the event of a run down of the loan book or on the withdrawal of support by BankWest, the Group may not realise its assets and settle its liabilities in the normal course of operations or at the amounts stated in this interim financial report.
