November 30, 2020 – Mississauga, Ontario – Axis Auto Finance Inc. (“Axis” or the “Company”), (TSXV: AXIS) a technology-driven alternative automotive finance company, announced record results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 ending September 30, 2020.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Adjusted earnings of $1.6 million a 230% jump from $0.5 million in Q1 F2020.
- Originations of $28.3 million, up 47% from $19.3 million in Q1 2020;
- Record portfolio balance of $140.7 million in owned and managed assets, up 20% from $117.6 million as at September 30, 2019;
- A 23% year-over-year reduction in credit losses to an annualized rate of 8.08%
- A 18% reduction in operating expenses from Q1 2020; and
- A 35% year-over-year reduction in reportable delinquency to 3.7%
Originations for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were $28.3 million, of which $16.7 million were owned and on balance sheet and $11.6 million were volumes managed for Westlake Financial Services (“Westlake”). The gradual re-opening of auto dealerships across Canada resulted in a 210% jump in originations compared to the prior quarter.
Revenues were $9.4 million, an increase of 4.8% year-over-year, the result of incremental revenues on the Westlake managed portfolio and maintaining strong yields on newly originated on balance sheet finance receivables.
Annualized credit losses were 8.08% in the quarter, a marked improvement over credit losses of 10.46% in the first quarter of the prior year. Further, the Company concluded the quarter with reportable delinquency of 3.67%, an additional reduction from reportable delinquency of 4.10% reported at June 30, 2020 and a 200 bps reduction year-over-year.
Operating expenses in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were down $0.8 million or 18% to $3.8 million, the result of operating efficiencies gained through system enhancements.
Adjusted earnings for the quarter was $1.6 million or $0.017 per share, as compared to $0.5 million or $0.005 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Net earnings for the quarter was $0.8 million or $0.008 per share, as compared to a net loss of ($0.6) million or ($0.006) per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Adjusted shareholder equity was $41.2 million as at September 30, 2020, or $0.43 per share.
About Axis Auto Finance
Axis Auto Finance is a technology-driven provider of alternative used vehicle financing options servicing roughly 30% of Canadians (Source: Equifax) that have credit scores in the non-prime range. All Axis auto loans report to the credit bureau, resulting in 71% of customers seeing a significant improvement of their credit scores. These clients use Axis as a stepping-stone in their credit rebuilding journey and we are proud to be improving the lives of these Canadians. Supported by state-of-the-art, in-house developed risk analytics, Axis continues to be Canada’s fastest-growing publicly traded auto-financing company.Further information on the Company can be found at https://www.axisfinancegroup.com/investors-press-releases/.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company’s interim unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and the accounting policies we adopted in accordance with IFRS.
The Company believes that certain Non-IFRS Measures can be useful to investors because they provide a means by which investors can evaluate the Company’s underlying key drivers and operating performance of the business, exclusive of certain adjustments and activities that investors may consider to be unrelated to the underlying economic performance of the business of a given period. A full description of these measures can be found in the Management Discussion & Analysis that accompanies the financial statements for the corresponding period.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Axis Auto Finance Inc.
Ilja Troitschanski
President
(416) 633-5626
ir@axisautofinance.com