Financiera Independencia SAB de CV SOFOM ENR

BMV:FINDEP

Earnings Call Transcript 2024-Q1

[Operator]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Financiera Independencia's 2024 First Quarter Results Conference Call. My name is Andrea, and I will be your operator for today's call.

[Operator Instructions]

As a reminder, this video conference is being recorded. Joining us today from Financiera Independencia is Mr. Eduardo Messmacher, Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Jose Maria Cid, Chief Financial Officer. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jose Maria Cid. Mr. Cid, you may begin.

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Good morning. Thank you for joining Financiera Independencia First Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. We published our first quarter '24 results yesterday, which are available on our Investor Relations website independencia.com.mx. I would like to remind you that the information shared during this conference call may include forward-looking statements and as such, are subject to assumptions, uncertainties, risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described, including risks that may be beyond the company's control. Now I will turn the call over to Eduardo Messmacher.

[Eduardo Bernhart Messmacher Henríquez, executive]

Thank you, Jose Maria. Good morning, everyone. I will start with some highlights of our first quarter '24 operations. Reported net profit for the quarter reached MXN 179 million kicking up the year with a strong performance, 8% higher year-on-year. The top line remains strong and operating expenses remain well controlled with cost as a percentage of our average portfolio at 34% in the context of a decreasing portfolio balance, primarily driven by our prudent approach to U.S. economic conditions and FX effects. Liquidity is strong with cash at MXN 782 million at quarter end. Net debt decreased MXN 137 million from the prior quarter and 22% year-on-year.

Our equity-to-asset ratio stands at 51% at quarter end, 7.8 percentage points above the same time last year. Our loan portfolio of MXN 7.5 billion decreased 7% year-on-year, including 8% appreciation of the Mexican peso. Under a constant FX rate, the consolidated group portfolio declined 3% year-on-year. Our portfolio based in Mexico grew approximately 0.5% year-on-year, and our U.S. portfolio declined 11% year-on-year in dollar terms.

In the first quarter loan origination was MXN 1.1 billion, an increase of 2% compared with last year or an increase of 5% under constant FX. Compared to the prior quarter, total loan originations decreased 3% with originations in Mexico increasing 2%, while those in the U.S. decreased 11% in dollar terms.

Origination activities continue to reflect our prudent stance in the context of the prevailing macroeconomic environment. The consolidated NPL ratio measured as Stage 3 loan portfolio over the total portfolio stood at 5.7% in the first quarter '24 improving 60 basis points against the prior quarter and 80 basis points against the prior year. FINDEP's write-offs amounted to MXN 368 million in the first quarter, 7% lower than the prior quarter and 15% down from the prior year. Compared to the average portfolio, trailing 12 months write-offs were 20% versus 17% in the prior year. NPLs plus trailing 12 months write-offs of the total loan portfolio, including trailing 12-month write-offs, was 22% compared with 20% in the prior year.

Now I would like to share some performance highlights from each of our businesses during the quarter. In the potential represents 36% of the total portfolio and experienced a contraction of 3% year-on-year with net interest income declining 2%. We also continue to see a reduction in operational expenses. Apoyo Economico Familiar represents 28% of the total portfolio and experienced a growth of 5% year-on-year, with net interest income growing 2% versus the prior year. Apoyo Financiero represents 35% of the total portfolio and experienced a contraction of 18% year-on-year or 11% in dollar terms, with a 1% decline in net interest income in dollar terms.

We're pleased with a quarter of consistent and solid results with positive expected trends across each of our businesses. Our digital transformation remains our top priority, helping us to drive operational efficiencies across processes and work streams, ultimately, improving the service we can provide to our customers and the quality of our results. We remain committed to our strategy of focusing on our core businesses in our strategic markets, leveraging our expertise in credit analysis and loan origination while prudently managing liquidity and debt through macroeconomic cycles.

I will now hand over the discussion to Jose Maria, so he can provide additional details of our results.

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Thank you, Eduardo. In first quarter '24, interest income was MXN 1.2 billion, a decrease of 3% year-over-year despite a 7% decrease in the loan portfolio or 3% under a constant FX rate. Interest expense of MXN 148 million, declining 9% year-over-year, as we continue to proactively manage outstanding indebtedness. Net interest income of MXN 1.03 billion declined 3% year-over-year. The provision for loan losses or PLL was MXN 288 million in the first quarter '24, 25% lower compared to prior quarter and 14% lower than the prior year.

PLL over average loans was 15%, an improvement of 470 basis points from the prior quarter and 90 basis points from the prior year. Noninterest expenses were MXN 644 million in first quarter '24 or 34% as a percentage of the average portfolio, reflecting continued discipline and control to manage the expense base in the context of a decreasing portfolio balance. Interest-bearing liabilities are down 23% year-over-year or 21% under constant FX compared to a 7% decrease in the loan portfolio, a 3% decrease under a constant FX. Compared to the prior quarter, interest-bearing liabilities have decreased 2% or 1.5% under constant FX.

The company maintains a strong financial position with cash and cash equivalents of MXN 782 million or 7% of total assets and a solvency ratio, equity to total assets of 51%, improving 7.8 percentage points from the prior year and 1 full point above the prior quarter. Net debt measured as interest-bearing liabilities, minus cash and cash equivalents of MXN 3 billion at the end of the quarter, was down MXN 821 million or 22% from the prior year and 19% decline under a constant FX rate, reflecting a prudent portfolio and debt management.

On a sequential basis, net debt decreased MXN 137 million. Operating cash flow during the first quarter '24 was MXN 579 million. The company's coverage ratio was 233%, measured as allowances for loan losses over Stage 3 loans compared with 217% in the prior quarter and 205% prior. The company's return on equity ratio for the quarter was 13.4%, and this is 55 basis points for the prior year, and the return on assets ratio was 6.8%, increasing 95 basis points from the prior year. When considering tangible equity for the quarter, it decreased 16.5% versus 17.7% in the prior quarter.

Overall, the company delivered strong and consistent results in the quarter with continued disciplined execution of our key priorities. Operator, we'd like to open the call for questions at this time.

[Operator]

We will now conduct a Q&A session.

[Operator Instructions]

Our first question comes from the line of Jan Sao. Please state your full name and company name and ask your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Can you hear me? Hello, can you hear me?

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Yes, we can.

[Unknown Analyst]

So this is Jan from Agio. I just have one question from my side. Could you share a bit color on how much of the enjoying credit line you have for now?

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Sorry, there's a kind of back noise. So we didn't get the question.

[Unknown Analyst]

How much of the end-to-end credit facility you have as of now?

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Did you mean how much of the credit facilities we have available?

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes.

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Okay. So we have -- in total, we have $3.3 billion facilities in the banking and then the available one, we have about $700 million still available in the bank, sorry, pesos. That's pesos.

[Operator]

Thank you. That concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to hand the call back over to Jose Maria Cid for some closing remarks.

[Jose Maria Cid Michavila, executive]

Thank you very much for your time and interest in Financiera Independencia. My contact information is available on our website independecia.com.mx, in case you have any further questions. Have a great day.