Mekong Capital-invested pawnshop chain F88 posts Q1 net profit after 2023 hefty loss

By Minh Anh
Mon, May 27, 2024 | 4:57 pm GMT+7

F88 Business Joint Stock Company (F88), which runs the F88-branded pawnshop chain in Vietnam, has said it earned a net profit of VND31 billion ($1.22 million) in the first quarter of this year, after posting a heavy loss in 2023.

An F88 shop in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the company.

An F88 shop in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the company.

Its Q1/2024, the firm’s revenue increased at the fastest pace since early 2023 and topped its peak in Q4/2023 by 2%, it said in a statement, without giving specific figures.

The number of new customers increased 9% in the quarter, the firm added.

F88 attributed the improving Q1 performance to accelerating economic growth, better risk control and debt recovery, lower net write-off costs, as well as a more solid financial foundation.

The financial services company raised VND191 billion ($7.5 million) worth of bonds between January and March. Its debt to equity (D/E) ratio was 1.99 times at the end of March, which the company said was “quite sound” in the financial industry.

F88 incurred a net loss of VND528.85 billion ($20.76 million) in 2023, versus a net profit of VND208.14 billion in 2022. Its D/E ratio dropped to 1.8 from 4.18 times in 2022.

Established in 2013, F88 is one of the fastest-growing financial services providers in the country with over 800 transaction offices nationwide.

In 2023, it raised $50 million in a Series C funding round from Vietnam Oman Investment and Mekong Capital, a major fund manager in the country. It also secured a $50-million loan from Lending Ark and sold VND250 billion ($9.82 million) worth of bonds last year.

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