Proposed final and special dividend of HK$1.08 cents per share
HONG KONG, May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Oi Wah Pawnshop Credit Holdings Limited (HKEx stock code: 1319.HK, the "Group" or "Oi Wah") announced its annual results and its financial position. For the year ended 28 February 2022 ("FY2022"), the Group recorded revenue of approximately HK$152.0 million and profit attributable to shareholders of the Company of approximately HK$71.7 million. During the year, net interest margin improved by 1.3 percentage point to 15.0%.
During the year, earnings per share was HK 3.7 cents. The Board of Directors recommends a final dividend of HK 0.71 cents and a special dividend of HK 0.37 cents.
Business Review
Mortgage loan business
In FY2022, the Group recorded interest income of the mortgage loan business of approximately HK$82.7 million, which accounted for approximately 54.4% of the Group's total revenue. The gross mortgage loan receivables was approximately HK$726.3 million as at 28 February 2022 with the total new mortgage loans granted amounted to approximately HK$428.5 million in FY2022. During the year, there were 100 new cases of mortgage loan transactions, with average loan size of approximately HK$4.3 million.
During the year, the Group continued to adopt a prudent and cautious approach when granting loans, as well as maintaining a higher proportion of first mortgage loans in the Group's portfolio to mitigate risk. The loan-to-value ratio for the first mortgage is approximately 52.4%, while overall loan-to-value ratio for subordinary mortgage is approximately 58.5%, of which, loan-to-value ratio of subordinary mortgage that the Group participate in is approximately 5.4% in FY2022.
Pawn Loan Business
In FY2022, the revenue from the pawn loan business increased by 7.9% to approximately HK$69.3 million, thanks to the growing luxury goods market that led to an increase of pawn loan size. The aggregate pawn loan amount granted increased by approximately 19.7% to approximately HK$791.1 million. During the year, the Group continued to channel resources to advertising and promotion to enhance the Group's brand exposure. Such effort has generated demand for one-to-one pawn loan appointment services for pawn loans exceeding HK$0.1 million. The number of pawn loan transactions granted of such amount increased to 497 transactions in FY2022. The average loan amount also increased to approximately HK$11,700 per transaction.
Prospects
With a high vaccination rate and a growing mass immunity from previous infection, it is expected that COVID-19 pandemic will pose less of a threat to Hong Kong. The continuous travel restrictions had undermined the city's competitiveness and business operations were unable to return to normal. We believe that future loan demand in Hong Kong will depend largely on the government's disease prevention measures. Local businesses, especially SMEs will continue to be prudent regarding future expansion until they see a substantial resumption of vital economic activities. The uncertainties of macro-economy and geopolitical risks are also expected to linger, with the USA's tightening policy and the evolving pandemic being pivotal to market sentiments. In response to this, the Group will continue to strengthen its risk management measures, such as increasing the proportion of first mortgage loans, further tightening its loan-to-value ratio, adopting a more cautious approach when granting loans, in order to maintain financial stability of the Group and wait for market recovery.
Meanwhile, the Group is currently developing a mobile APP to provide a quick and easy alternative financing solution to its customers, as well as to capture opportunities of the online pawn loan market.
Mr. Edward Chan, Chairman and CEO of the Company, said, "During the year, pawn loan business and mortgage loan business of the Group has remained steady, thus we continued to maintain a stable dividend policy and recommend a special dividend to share the fruits of development with our investors. Looking ahead, we will continue to seize opportunities and strive to create the best interests for our shareholders and the Company."
About Oi Wah Pawnshop Credit Holdings Limited
Oi Wah is a financing service provider in Hong Kong, mainly providing short-term secured financing, including pawn loans and mortgage loans. The Group established its first pawnshop in 1975 and currently owns 10 pawnshops in various locations in Hong Kong. Oi Wah diversified into mortgage loan business in 2009. The Group is the first local pawn shop which successfully listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 12 March 2013.
