Durrant Pate/Contributor

Dolla Financial Services Limited is in a celebratory mode having seen a 116 per cent increase in net profits and booming business since becoming a public company some nine months ago through an oversubscribed initial public offer (IPO) of shares.

After accounting for taxation of J$15.17 million, net profit for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, amounted to J$280.47 million, which more than doubled J$129.55 million for 2021. For the December quarter, net profit closed at J$92.42 million, up from the J$86.35 million booked for the comparable period in 2021.

Total comprehensive income for 2022 also more than doubled moving to J$275.67 million coming from J$128.96 million in 2021. Shareholders have also seen the benefit from the growth in profitability and the business with earnings per share (EPS) for 2022 totalling J$0.11 relative to J$0.05 booked for 2021.

For the fourth quarter, EPS closed at J$0.04 compared to J$0.03 in 2021. Notably, Dolla’s stock price closed trading Thursday (March 16) at a price of J$2.74 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 24.42 times.

Other financial highlights

The micro financier reported a 95 per cent increase in interest income to J$739.74 million (2021: J$379.05 million). For the December quarter, interest income closed at J$264.52 million (2021: J$202.74 million).

Net Interest income for the period rose 103 per cent year-over-year to J$660.91 million (2021: J$325.47 million), while interest expense amounted to J$78.83 million (2021: J$53.58 million). For the fourth quarter, net interest income closed at J$225 million (2021: J$186.27 million).

Provision for expected credit losses (ECL) for the year amounted to J$29.63 million (2021: J$20.42 million), while for the December quarter, the provision for ECL amounted to J$8.05 million (2021: J$3.51 million).

As a result, net interest income after loan impairment for the year-end and fourth quarter totalled J$631.28 million (2021: J$305.04 million) and J$216.96 million (2021: $182.76 million) respectively.

Non-Interest income for the period:

• Fees and Other Income amounted to J$6.74 million (2021: J$16.23 million)
• Foreign Exchange Losses totalled J$2.66 million (2021: loss of J$33,000)

Consequently, total net interest income and other revenue stood at J$635.28 million (2021: J$321.24 million), while for fourth quarter, it stood at J$215.07 million (2021: J$157.17 million). Administrative expenses rose 121 per cent year-over-year to J$339.72 million (2021: J$153.44 million).

For the fourth quarter, it rose to J$120.78 million (2021: J$45.73 million). This resulted in a profit before taxation of J$295.64 million (2021: J$167.80 million).

Balance sheet at a glance:

As at December 31, 2022, Dolla’s total asset base amounted to J$2.24 billion (2021: J$861.09 million). The increase was mainly due to ‘Loans, Net of Provision for Credit Losses,’ which closed at J$1.73 billion (2021: J$750.50 million).

Equity attributable to stockholders of parent amounted to J$720.98 million (2021: J$314.98 million) with book value per share amounting to J$0.29 (2021: J$0.13).