The leasing industry financed investment assets with a total value of PLN 88 billion in 2021, an increase of 30.7% y / y, the Polish Leasing Association (ZPL) reported. For the first time, the portfolio of active leasing contracts in the field of financing movable property was higher than the balance of loans granted to companies by banks. Nevertheless, the ZPL assumes a cautious development scenario for the leasing industry in 2022.
“The results of the leasing sector in 2021 are very good. With PLN 88 billion in new financing, we can speak of another record, despite the serious turbulence experienced by the automotive sector. In the second half of 2021, we faced the limited availability of new cars, and experts indicate that such a situation may persist in the coming months of this year. Therefore, we assume and adopt a cautious scenario for the development of the leasing sector in 2022. A difficult year ahead of the leasing industry, in which the results of leasing companies will depend on the availability of financed assets,” said Paweł Pach, Chairman of the Board at ZPL.
Companies associated with ZPL focus on servicing leasing transactions, the value of which amounted to PLN 77.2 billion. Loan agreements are concluded less frequently (PLN 10.8 billion in 2021).
In 2021, with the help of leasing and investment loans, entrepreneurs most often financed light vehicles (44.6% in the leasing market structure) as well as machines and other equipment (accounting for 28.1%). As shown in the ZPL report, the structure of the market has changed over the last year. The financing of +3.5 t heavy goods vehicles, tractors, semi-trailers, trailers and buses (22% share) gained at the expense of light vehicles (light vehicles had a 47.5% share in 2020). Other assets such as: IT equipment, planes, ships, rolling stock and other vehicles have a 4.4% market share, while real estate – below 1%, ZPL reported.
The total value of the active portfolio of the leasing industry at the end of 2021 amounted to PLN 165.8 billion, which means nearly 5% growth y / y. For the first time, the portfolio of active leasing contracts in the area of financing movable property was higher than the balance of loans granted to companies by banks (PLN 160.6 billion is the portfolio of the leasing industry in the area of financing movable assets, and PLN 159 billion was the value of active loans), the report shows.
The structure of the portfolio of leasing companies’ clients has remained stable for a long time. The recipients of leasing services are mainly micro and small companies, i.e. customers with a turnover of up to PLN 20 million, which account for 73.7% of the customer structure. The largest group of clients (54.1%) are micro-companies (clients with a turnover of up to PLN 5 million). Customers with a turnover of PLN 5 to 20 million constitute 19.6%, companies with a turnover of over PLN 20 million have a 25.4% share in the structure, while transactions concluded with individual customers have a 0.7% market share.
In 2021, the leasing industry financed light vehicles (i.e. passenger cars and vans up to 3.5 tons) with a total value of PLN 39.2 billion, which means a result 22.9% higher than in the previous year. Both types of vehicles, i.e. passenger and delivery vehicles up to 3.5 tons, recorded high dynamics (23% y / y and 22.6% y / y, respectively), it was also indicated.
The machinery and equipment segment was characterized by dynamic development and allowed for the financing of machinery and equipment with a total value of PLN 24.7 billion with a 26% increase y / y. The leasing industry achieved the highest dynamics in the financing of machines for the production of plastics and metal processing (+ 35.5%), construction machinery (+ 32%), as well as machines for the food sector (+ 27.7%) and agriculture (+18, 3%).
“When analyzing the situation in the agro sector, one cannot ignore the record sales and high level of registration of new farm tractors (43% increase in registrations y / y, and their number exceeded 14 thousand). Polish manufacturers, importers and distributors advised coping with these challenges better than companies in Western Europe, where the markets did not record such high growth. Such good results of machine sales translated into the results of leasing companies, which financed agricultural machinery worth PLN 6.4 billion, i.e. 18.3% more y / y,” said the president of ZPL, Tomasz Sudaj.
2021 was a record year for lessor financing of trucks. In this market segment, where ZPL took into account such assets as: heavy goods vehicles over 3.5 tons, tractors, semi-trailers and trailers as well as buses, positive dynamics were visible in all product groups, except for buses. Accumulated ZPL data at the end of 2021 show that the leasing industry signed new contracts with a total value of PLN 19.4 billion, with the dynamics of the truck segment at + 63.3% y / y.
The surveyed companies expect employment growth in the first quarter of 2022, even higher than in the previous quarter. They also forecast a further deterioration in the quality of the portfolio, but on a smaller scale than in the fourth quarter of 2021. On the other hand, companies announce a significant reduction in sales activity at the beginning of 2022. Both the ratings for the projected number of incoming applications and the value of concluded contracts are formulated at a significantly lower level than in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Polish Leasing Association (ZPL) is an organization representing 90% of the leasing market in Poland, which associates 29 entities. ZPL mainly represents leasing companies, but also companies and organizations related to the rental market. In Europe, the Association is an active member of Leaseurope, an organization that includes 45 unions from 32 European countries.
Source: ZPL and ISBnew
