PPF group posted a EUR 318 million (CZK 7.73 billion) loss in H1 of this year, mainly due to costs linked with its departure from the Russian banking market, while a year ago it made a profit of EUR 188 million (CZK 4.57 billion), the company announced.
“The loss stems from Home Credit’s withdrawal from the Russian market. In this context, it represents a statement of goodwill rather than a setback,” PPF Group CEO Jiri Smejc said.
PPF and its unit Home Credit said in early September they had completed the sale of their remaining 49.5 percent share in Russia’s Home Credit & Finance Bank (HCFB), including some subsidiaries. This means they left the Russian banking market. HCFB subsequently got under the control of a group of individual investors.
The results released yesterday show that the group obtained EUR382m for the majority stake of 50.5 percent in Russian activities and the remaining stake of 49.5 percent was evaluated at EUR 149 million. The sale of the Russian assets led to a net loss of EUR 900 million, according to PPF.
PPF’s telecommunications companies O2, Yettel and Cetin, media group CME, and transport equipment manufacturer Skoda Group each attained profits in H1, the group said.
“The Group’s banks and consumer finance providers operating under the Home Credit brand in Europe, Central Asia and South and Southeast Asia, also performed equally well. China remains the only market where problems persist resulting from zero-Covid restrictions,” it added.
Over the past two years, the group has carried out several key transactions, including the sale of its 40 percent stake in Mall Group, a 30 percent stake in CETIN Group (while retaining a majority control), and the sale of Home Credit’s Indonesian and Philippines operations, generating proceeds of more than EUR 3 billion, according to an announcement from the company.
In late November, PPF said its consumer finance division Home Credit was selling its assets in the Philippines and Indonesia worth approximately EUR 615 million (about CZK 15 billion). The transaction was agreed upon with a consortium comprising the subsidiaries of Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The consortium includes MUFG Bank, Krungsri Bank, a leading Thai financial institution, and Adira Finance, an Indonesian consumer finance company.
PPF operates in 25 countries in Europe, Asia and Northern America, investing in a number of sectors, chiefly financial services, telecommunications, media, biotechnology, real estate and engineering. It owns assets worth EUR 40.13 billion (CZK 975 billion) and employs 70,000 people worldwide.
