CFSL - Annual report 2018

Our finance segment registered a growth of 9% and 6% onPAT andnet operating income respectively, compared with last year, and the asset book has increased by around 8%. The highlight of the year was the acquisition of Mauritian Eagle Leasing Company Limited from IBL in August 2018. With this acquisition Cim Group is now the number two in the ‘Leasing’ market, with a book worth approximately MUR 3bn, as compared to MUR 2bn prior to the acquisition. We have taken steps to strengthen our core consumer finance business and continued to invest in new technology to sustain Cim Finance’s growth for the years to come. The Board of Cim Finance Ltd has also welcomed a new Chairman, Mrs Aisha Timol, and two new directors namely Mr Denis Motet and Mr Sebastian Taylor, who together bring with them decades of experience in the banking and financial services sector. Our property cluster delivered a PAT of MUR 78.7m (2017: MUR 91.3m), a fall of 14% in a year where the cluster was under restructuring. I am pleased to report that we have successfully completed the regrouping of all of the property companies and assets under one roof. At the same time, the property cluster has been rebranded Lavastone Properties, regrouped under the legal entity, Lavastone Ltd (formerly Cim Property Development Ltd). As part of the restructuring, some MUR 778.5m was injected as capital in Lavastone Ltd to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of its ambitious development plans. The Property team was also busy with several key projects, the most important one being the launch of the ‘246 Edith Cavell Court’ project at Edith Cavell and Chaussée Streets in Port Louis in what promises to be a major milestone for Lavastone Properties. The project, which will be completed by November 2019, will seek to preserve the look and feel of the old buildings while making it a modern attraction inside, giving a new vibe to the neighbourhood. Finance Segment Listing of Lavastone Ltd on the Development and Enterprise Market The listing of Lavastone Ltd on the Development and EnterpriseMarket (‘DEM’) was approved on 14December 2018. Following the dividend in specie declared on the same day, you will hold a share in Lavastone Ltd for each share of CIM Financial Services Ltd that you own with effect as from 17 January 2019. With our strengthened business and improved capabilities, we are moving more and more towards the digitalisation of our processes. I am pleased to say that we are now operational in Kenya, in a number of shops in Nairobi, under the brand Aspira, using a FinTech model for hire purchase. We are delighted to have appointed David Somen as the Chairman of our Kenyan entity. He has been a member of our Board for some time and he lives in Kenya and is well placed to support us as the business moves forward. The FinTech proposition we are offering in Kenya is ‘people lite’ and we would like to roll it out elsewhere, depending on market opportunities. With regard to our planned activities in Ethiopia, due to the regulatory environment all the shareholders decided that the proposed investment was not viable. 9 % Profit after tax 6 % Net operating income 9 CIM FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2018