Integrated Report 2020

INTEGRATED REPORT 2020 CIM FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD Group Review Despite the challenging conditions, Cim Group has had a solid financial year. Group net operating income increased by 15% from MUR1.8 bn in financial year (FY) 2019 to MUR2.1 bn in FY 2020. However, Group profit after tax decreased by 50% from MUR382.7 m to MUR190.8 m over the same period mainly due to an increase in provisioning charges. Cim Finance business review Despite the lockdown and adverse conditions, the Finance cluster still managed to record top-line growth during financial year 2020 (FY20). Net operating income increased by MUR271 m (+15.8%) from MUR1.72 bn in FY19 to MUR1.99 bn in FY20. Profit after tax decreased by MUR126 m (-29%) from MUR432 m to MUR306 m, driven by an increase in provisioning charges to take into account the adverse market conditions. The Finance cluster had a very strong first six months of the financial year before lockdown, where it was ahead of targets compared to the previous year, which has contributed to an overall positive result despite the increase in provisioning charges. Cim Finance’s asset (loan) book increased by MUR839 m (+6%) during the financial year from MUR12.5 bn at 30 September 2019 to MUR13.5 Bn at 30 September 2020. The balance sheet growth was driven by a strong first half of the financial year before lockdown. Helping our clients affected by the pandemic COVID-19 has impacted many households in Mauritius and we have seen a lot of our customers come to us for assistance. As a responsible company, it is our duty to support our customers in this difficult period and to alleviate the financial stress that they are facing. We took a number of steps during the lockdown and subsequently to support our clients in these difficult economic times. Financial assistance We extended a grace period to all our retail clients during the lockdown to relieve them of the financial pressure of having to service their monthly instalments. For those retail clients continuing to face financial difficulty, we enabled them to reschedule their monthly commitments to more affordable levels given their financial constraints. We also extended capital moratoriums, without external financial support, to our leasing clients who were facing financial difficulty. So far, 7,000 clients have benefitted from the reshecudling programme The SME Factoring Scheme was launched during the confinement period with the aim of bringing Cim Finance’s support to SMEs facing financial difficulties due to the impact of COVID-19. This Scheme has recently been extended to 31 December 2020, with a 2% annual interest rate. In partnership with the ISP, we are also participating in the Leasing Equipment Modernisation Scheme (LEMS) to support our customers in the acquisition or modernisation of their equipment with an interest rate from 2.5% p.a. Job Support Programme In order to assist, but above all to empower our clients who have been going through difficult times for months, Cim Finance set up a Job Support Programme in collaboration with recruitment agencies in the country. The idea is to put these job seekers in touch with potential employers, and a team from Cim Finance will be fully dedicated to the programme. Our team helps clients to create their profiles, upload their documents and apply on our recruitment partners’ job portals. The team is also assisting customers in creating their CVs, and motivational letters, and will provide them with useful tips for upcoming job interviews. 22