Record-breaking 1st quarter of 2018 for the AFORTI Group

Subsidiaries of Aforti Holding S.A., the NewConnect-quoted parent entity for the Group of Companies providing financial services for the SMEs sector, presented estimated operating and sales results for March 2018.

During this period, Aforti Finance S.A. granted 56 loans (increase by 69.70% YoY) with total value of PLN 5.01 million, which – as compared to the same month of 2017 – means growth by 209.52 percent.

The value of turnover on the currency exchange platform of Aforti Exchange S.A. amounted to EUR 22.41 million and was higher by 314.66 percent than in the previous year. In the case of Aforti Exchange Romania, this turnover amounted to EUR 3.92 million.

In March of this year, the face value of debt collection orders of Aforti Collections S.A. reached PLN 5.12 million and was higher than in March of 2017 by 14.04 percent. The number of debt collection orders of the company amounted to 70, namely 98.74 percent less than in the previous year.

Aforti Factor S.A., operating in the factoring segment, is also faring better and better. Last month, it financed liabilities with the value of PLN 1.39 million.

In the 1st quarter of this year, Aforti Finance SA granted 163 loans to entrepreneurs (75.27 percent more YoY), with total value of PLN 14.99 million, which means year-on-year growth by 232.69 percent. At the same time, 890 entrepreneurs applied for a loan (+ 93.48%) by submitting applications for the total amount of PLN 92.58 million (increase by 308.38 percent).“We are crossing subsequent result barriers by dynamically developing. The construction of our own sales network has clearly begun to yield the first expected results. The market situation is also favourable. Many entrepreneurs are looking for quick funding, since time is often of the essence in business. Our formalities and the contractor verification period take as little time as possible, thanks to which we are able to quickly issue a decision on granting funds,” says Klaudiusz Sytek, President of the Management Board of Aforti Holding S.A.

March brought for Aforti Collections S.A., the company operating in the debt collection and credit management industry, an improvement in the order portfolio value by 14.04 percent up to PLN 5.12 million. However, in the cumulative perspective, this value amounted to PLN 7.72 million at the end of the 1st quarter and remained 31.27 percent lower than in the previous year. The number of orders amounted to 70 only in March (-98.74 percent) and 937 from the beginning of the year until the end of March (-92.66 percent).

“Step by step, we are building real value of our order portfolio. The first effect is the growth in the face value of orders by over PLN 630 thousand,” says Klaudiusz Sytek

The month was successfully closed by Aforti Factor S.A., dealing with factoring, which financed liabilities with the value of PLN 1.39 million in March. “We closed the first quarter successfully, financing invoices for the total amount of nearly PLN 3 million. By acquiring new customers, we gained the possibility to utilise the synergy effect, presenting our offer to customers of other companies from the Aforti Group. Additionally, we are still noticing that Polish entrepreneurs need to be educated on what factoring is and what benefits it may bring to them. In the near future, we will prepare something like a free small compendium that will contain the basic information,” comments the President of the Management Board of Aforti Holding S.A.

Turnover records are broken by the currency exchange platform run by Aforti Exchange S.A. Throughout the 1st quarter, Polish entrepreneurs made exchange transactions worth nearly EUR 46.05 million, which means growth by 194.45 percent towards 2017. At the same time, Aforti Exchange Romania S.A. recorded a turnover in the amount of EUR 7.20 million in the same period. “Nowadays, a customer as individual as B2B values professionalism, promptness and convenience. We can guarantee these features in the operation of our online platform. At first, our Customers use this tool with caution, but after several transactions they admit that it becomes an indispensable tool in running business operations,” summarises Klaudiusz Sytek, President of the Management Board of Aforti Holding S.A.

Laur Eksperta 2018/2019 award for Aforti Finance and Aforti Exchange

We are honoured to inform that we were awarded with Laur Eksperta 2018/2019 (Expert’s Laurel). Certificates were granted to two of our companies – Aforti Finance – for the Gold Loan product, and Aforti Exchange – for the Currency Exchange Platform for Businesses product. During a festive Ceremony that took place on 26 March 2018 in the Belvedere-Klonowa Residence of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw, we also received the Extraordinary Honourable Mention – Medal Nowoczesności (Modernity Medal) for Aforti Exchange. We are glad to belong to the group of brands offering the best services on the Polish market!

Aforti Group successfully closed February 2018

Aforti Group – providing financial services for the SME sector, led by Aforti Holding S.A., a company quoted on the NewConnect market, published estimated operational-sales results at the end of February 2018.

From among subsidiaries, Aforti Finance S.A. is moving at the forefront – within two months of this year the company granted 107 loans with the total value of more than PLN 9.97 million, which is a YOY growth by, accordingly: 78.33 and 245.72 percent.

The indicated period was positively closed also by Aforti Factor S.A., offering factoring services to entrepreneurs, since at the end of February the value of liabilities financed by it amounted to more than PLN 1.53 million.

Promising results were also achieved by companies running web currency exchange platforms dedicated to entrepreneurs in Poland – Aforti Exchange S.A. and in Romania – Aforti Exchange Romania S.A. The first one in the period of January and February this year recorded the turnover of nearly EUR 23.65 million – 131.02 percent higher than the year before. At the same time, on the Romanian market Aforti Exchange Romania reached over PLN 3.18 million of turnover.

At the end of February 2018 the nominal value of debt collection orders acquired by Aforti Collections S.A. reached the level of PLN 2.60 million and was lower by 61.41 percent as compared to the year before, which was connected with the started remodelling of business.

In February, Aforti Finance granted 51 loans with the total value of more than PLN 5.49 million, which, as compared to the same period of the previous year, mean an increase by, accordingly: 45.71 and 233.21 percent.

“In February 293 entrepreneurs submitted credit applications to us for the total amount of nearly PLN 31.74 million. Number of applications increased by 80.86 percent year-over-year, and after first two months of this year by as much as 111.90 percent. This success was due to several factors. The first one is effective sales, as we’re constantly looking for new and innovative methods of reaching the client. The second, as shown by the latest market research, is a problem of payment backlogs. Some of our clients use non-bank loans in order to expand their companies, but there is also a high share of entrepreneurs who need funds because their contractors do not pay invoices on time” – comments Klaudiusz Sytek, owner of the Aforti Group and President of the Board of Aforti Holding S.A.

Apart from loans, entrepreneurs more and more often use factoring. For this reason, at the end of the previous year a new company providing this type of services appeared in the structures of the Aforti Group – Aforti Factor S.A.  In February this year it financed liabilities amounting to PLN 1.00 million.

“The month-over-month value of liabilities financed by Aforti Factor increased by more than 87 percent, and I expect this trend to maintain and even gradually increase. The Company is taking the first steps on the factoring market, which is not easy since many entrepreneurs still not yet understood benefits of this services. From the data of the Polish Factors Association it seems that from among 600 companies of the SME sector examined in 2017, only slightly more than 14 percent, namely every seventh, uses factoring. Hence, we can see that the market in Poland may develop dynamically” – says Klaudiusz Sytek

According to the data obtained by PZF, factoring is most often used in operations of companies of the following sectors: HoReCa (24%), industry (20%), transport (14%) and trade (10%). Construction companies use this form of financial liquidity improvement least frequently – only 6%.

The upward trend is also improved every month by companies running the Internet currency exchange platform, also for entrepreneurs.

In February this year Aforti Exchange S.A. operating in Poland recorded PLN 11.17 million turnover on its platform, which means an increase by 176.59 percent YOY. During the same month, Aforti Exchange Romania S.A. operating on the Romanian market  reached EUR 2.29 million of concluded currency exchange transactions.

“Companies operating on foreign markets are seeking for a possibly most favourable currency exchange options. Our platform gives it to them. We cooperate both with clients which exchange currencies periodically, as well as with those who exchange currencies every now and again. We can see that the tool proves effective” – summarises Klaudiusz Sytek, President of the Board of Aforti Holding S.A.

In February 2018 Aforti Collections S.A. achieved lower results. The nominal value of debt collection orders amounted to more than PLN 1.29 million (decrease by 23.83 percent YOY), and their number amounted to 35 as compared to 1,260 acquired the year before (decrease by 97.22%).

“The presented data are a result of remodelling of our business. It is necessary to understand and be aware of that, since they will still point to a negative trend for some time. When we started operations in the debt collection sector, we received many orders, only a part of which were cases with a good degree of recovery rate. We have decided to transform this quantity into quality and now we are more selective when it comes to accepting orders. We are currently focused on packages of liabilities meeting the specified criteria” – says clearly Klaudiusz Sytek

Change in the legal form of subsidiary – Aforti Exchange

The Management Board of Aforti Holding S.A. informs that on 20 February 2018 Aforti Exchange changed its legal form and – after transformation from a limited liability company – it acquired the status of a joint stock company.

AFORTI – a strategic sponsor of GTM Start Gniezno speedway club and a titular sponsor of Junior team!

GTM Start Gniezno speedway club found a new strategic sponsor. In the current season this title will belong to AFORTI – a financial group offering non-bank loans, debt collection services and factoring for companies from the SME sector and running the Internet currency exchange platform. At the same time, Aforti became a titular sponsor of a junior team of GTM Start Gniezno.  Both agreements have been signed for a year, with an option of their extension for future seasons.

The agreement with GTM Start Gniezno is another project related to sports sponsorship, implemented by the Aforti Group. As of July 2017 the financial holding has been the strategic sponsor of Lech Poznań. A three-year agreement was a continuation of a prior, successful cooperation between “Kolejorz” and Aforti – which was the premium sponsor of the club from Poznań already in the season 2016/2017.

AFORTI’s logo – placed on sleeves, legs and body – will appear on new suits and hems of GTM Start Gniezno motorcycles as early as on 7-8 April 2018 during the first round of the season with the participation of sportsmen of Gniezno speedway club, taking place as part of the 1^st Speedway League.

Klaudiusz Sytek, President of the Aforti Group expresses his satisfaction – “Cooperation with GTM Start Gniezno and, at the same time, the possibility to co-create the club with many years of speedway tradition, gives us great satisfaction. We hope that 2018 will prove extremely successful for our sportsmen, and that teams supported by AFORTI will achieve another successes in speedway.”

 “We are glad that we obtained a new strategic sponsor for our club. The presence of the Aforti Group and the beginning of our cooperation is an important step towards further professionalisation of GTM Start. We will introduce together new ideas, complete new tasks and obtain subsequent partners. We are pleased that the positive effects are already visible” – summarises Tomasz Wojciechowski, President of GTM Start Gniezno.

Schedule of the 1st Speedway League for the season 2018 is available here.

The sponsoring activity of AFORTI is an announcement of a #afortiSupPORT project implemented by the Group, as part of which the financial holding will support sports clubs in Poland and abroad. AFORTI will focus on disciplines which provide great sport emotions to the audience, at the same time, going beyond the list of standard and popular sports. The strategic sponsor of GTM Start Gniezno and Lech Poznań will focus on niche but spectacular disciplines.

Klaudiusz Sytek, President of the Aforti Group emphasises that “Involvement of AFORTI in sponsorship of sports clubs is a broader strategy which we will precisely pursue in the period of at least next few years. The rule is that the most popular disciplines determine a direction to this type of activities, but AFORTI adopted a slightly distinct strategy. For us a determinant is not directly marketing, but rather unusual emotions and a rush of adrenaline, delivered by a given sport. We are interested, which is less obvious, in non-standard sports which may even appear extreme. Different countries, different places, different sports and one leading theme #afortiSupPORT.”

At the same time, AFORTI will be the initiator of an original project #afortiMocnyStart, whose leading idea is to support youth sport teams, as well as individual young sportsmen, talented and committed to achieve successes, excelling not only in terms of their potential, but also a kind of sports they practice.

“There will be no sport achievements, unless we invest in young sportsmen. Successes of sportsmen are the results of years of hard work, therefore it is so important to prepare them to a professional carrier from the moment they start their adventure with sport. We want to have our share in it, therefore as part of our sport sponsorship strategy we have planned a young sportsmen support programme, which we plan to implement under the banner of #afortiMocnyStart. The main assumption will be sponsporing of youth teams as we have already done in the case of GTM Start Gniezno Juniors” – adds Paweł Opoka, sales manager of AFORTI Holding.

The #afortiSupPORT#afortiMocnyStart programmes will be officially launched in 2018 – according to the announcement of the AFORTI Group.