LU Lufax Holding Ltd

SHANGHAI, Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lufax Holding Ltd ("Lufax" or the "Company") (NYSE: LU and HKEX: 6623), a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

• Total income was RMB8,050 million (US$1,103 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB13,193 million in the same period of 2022.
• Net profit was RMB131 million (US$18 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB1,355 million in the same period of 2022.

Third Quarter 2023 Operational Highlights

• Outstanding balance of loans enabled was RMB366.3 billion as of September 30, 2023 compared to RMB636.5 billion as of September 30, 2022, representing a decrease of 42.5%.
• Cumulative number of borrowers increased by 6.8% to approximately 20.0 million as of September 30, 2023 from approximately 18.7 million as of September 30, 2022.
• New loans enabled were RMB50.5 billion in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB123.8 billion in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of 59.2%.
• During the third quarter of 2023, excluding the consumer finance subsidiary, the Company bore risk on 54.3% of its new loans enabled, up from 21.7% in the same period of 2022.
• As of September 30, 2023, including the consumer finance subsidiary, the Company bore risk on 31.8% of its outstanding balance, up from 22.5% as of September 30, 2022. Credit enhancement partners bore risk on 65.7% of outstanding balance, among which Ping An P&C accounted for a majority.
• As of September 30, 2023, excluding the consumer finance subsidiary, the Company bore risk on 25.7% of its outstanding balance, up from 19.1% as of September 30, 2022.
• For the third quarter of 2023, the Company's retail credit enablement business take rate^[1] based on loan balance was 7.8%, unchanged from the third quarter of 2022.
• C-M3 flow rate^[2] for the total loans the Company had enabled was 1.1% in the third quarter of 2023, compared to 1.0% the second quarter of 2023. Flow rates for the general unsecured loans and secured loans the Company had enabled were 1.2% and 0.7% respectively in the third quarter of 2023, as compared to 1.2% and 0.5% respectively in the second quarter of 2023.
• Days past due ("DPD") 30+ delinquency rate^[3] for the total loans the Company had enabled was 6.0% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 5.9% as of June 30, 2023. DPD 30+ delinquency rate for general unsecured loans was 6.9% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 6.8% as of June 30, 2023. DPD 30+ delinquency rate for secured loans was 3.4% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 2.9% as of June 30, 2023.
• DPD 90+ delinquency rate^[4] for total loans enabled was 3.7% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 3.6% as of June 30, 2023. DPD 90+ delinquency rate for general unsecured loans was 4.2% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 4.2% as of June 30, 2023. DPD 90+ delinquency rate for secured loans was 1.9% as of September 30, 2023, as compared to 1.7% as of June 30, 2023.
• As of September 30, 2023, Non-performing loan (NPL) ratio^[5] for consumer finance loans was 1.9% as compared to 2.2% as of June 30, 2023.

Mr. YongSuk Cho, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lufax, commented, "While recent data has indicated that China's economy is on the road to recovery, high-quality demand for loans from SBOs remained weak in the third quarter. Given this environment, we took steps to further de-risk and diversify our business during the quarter, emphasizing prudent decision-making and long-term, sustainable growth. We continued to prioritize asset quality over quantity, with early indicators suggesting that the asset quality of new loans enabled in 2023 is in line with our expectations, though not yet recovered to pre-COVID levels. We have also secured sufficient credit lines from our funding partners to support our 100% guarantee model for the remainder of 2023 and throughout 2024, laying the foundation for an improved take rate in the long term. Meanwhile, our consumer finance business continued to record healthy growth during the third quarter, with new loan sales volume increasing by 15.3% sequentially and 48.5% year over year. As part of our diversification efforts, we plan to acquire 100% of the equity interest of Ping An OneConnect Bank, pending the approval of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and OneConnect's shareholders. PAOB is a fully licensed bank with a service scope similar to traditional banks. As of June 30, 2023, a significant portion of PAOB's loan balance is backed by the Hong Kong government's SME Financing Guarantee Scheme and its capital adequacy ratio was 100%, which was substantially higher than the relevant regulatory requirement. We believe the business and target customers of PAOB sync well with our existing operations."

Mr. Gregory Gibb, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Lufax, commented, "During the third quarter, we doubled down on our goals of further improving efficiency and reinforcing the strategies that will fuel our future success. While our Puhui loan business faced pressure in generating new loan sales with asset quality that meets our tightened-up criteria, productivity of our direct sales team improved by 25.4% quarter over quarter, with 68% of new loans enabled in the third quarter coming from our direct sales team, compared to 61% in the prior quarter. On the risk performance front, the C-M3 flow rate of our Puhui business rose from 1.0% to 1.1% sequentially, due in part to a decrease of 16.1% in the outstanding loan balance of Puhui portfolios. Our consumer finance business experienced solid growth in new loan sales while maintaining a healthy asset quality. As the SBO segment faces lingering uncertainty and may need more time to recover, we plan to continue to grow our consumer finance business. Finally, we would like to express our ongoing gratitude to our shareholders for their continued support. We distributed our first half 2023 dividends in October, totaling US$89 million, and will continue to use our best efforts to deliver value to our shareholders."

Mr. David Choy, Chief Financial Officer of Lufax, commented, "We remained committed to our cost optimization efforts during the third quarter. Our total expenses decreased by 30.1% from the same period of the prior year, and despite top-line pressure, we recorded a net profit of RMB131.0 million for the quarter. In alignment with our emphasis on stability and resilience, our guarantee subsidiary's leverage ratio was only 1.6x at the end of the quarter, compared to the regulatory limit of 10x. Meanwhile, our cash at bank amounted to RMB39.8 billion as of September 30, 2023. We remain confident in our ability to maintain our operational prudence and generate sustainable growth."

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results

TOTAL INCOME
Total income was RMB8,050 million (US$1,103 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB13,193 million in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of 39.0%.

• Technology platform-based income was RMB3,259 million (US$447 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB6,672 million in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of 51.2%, due to 1) the decrease of retail credit service fees driven by the decrease in new loan sales and loan balance and 2) the decrease of referral and other technology platform-based income driven by the decrease in transaction volume.
• Net interest income was RMB3,307 million (US$453 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB4,618 million in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of 28.4%, mainly due to the decrease in loan balance, partly offset by the increase of net interest income from the Company's consumer finance business.
• Guarantee income was RMB941 million (US$129 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB1,863 million in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of 49.5%, primarily due to the decrease in loan balance and a lower fee rate.
• Other income was RMB291 million (US$40 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to other loss of RMB129 million in the same period of 2022. The increase was mainly due to the low base of the same period last year due to a refund of account management fees to the Company's primary credit enhancement partner in that period.
• Investment income was RMB253 million (US$35 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB168 million in the same period of 2022, mainly due to the decreased impairment loss of investment assets' fair value compared to the same period of last year.

TOTAL EXPENSES
Total expenses decreased by 30.1% to RMB7,747 million (US$1,062 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB11,082 million in the same period of 2022. This decrease was mainly driven by sales and marketing expenses, as sales and marketing expenses decreased by 43.7% to RMB2,290 million (US$314 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB4,071 million in the same period of 2022. Total expenses excluding credit impairment losses, asset impairment losses, finance costs and other (gains)/losses decreased by 31.1% to RMB4,650 million (US$637 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB6,746 million in the same period of 2022.

• Sales and marketing expenses decreased by 43.7% to RMB2,290 million (US$314 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB4,071 million in the same period of 2022. The decrease was mainly due to 1) the decreased borrowers acquisition costs as a result of the decrease in new loan sales and 2) decreased investor acquisition and retention expenses and referral expenses from platform service attributable to the decreased transaction volume.
• General and administrative expenses decreased by 15.6% to RMB500 million (US$69 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB592 million in the same period of 2022, mainly due to the Company's expense control measures and the decrease of tax and surcharge.
• Operation and servicing expenses decreased by 7.6% to RMB1,478 million (US$203 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB1,600 million in the same period of 2022, due to the Company's expense control measures and decrease of loan balance, partially offset by increasing resources invested in collection services.
• Technology and analytics expenses decreased by 21.0% to RMB382 million (US$52 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB484 million in the same period of 2022 due to 1) the optimization of technology and the research team, and 2) the Company's improved efficiency.
• Credit impairment losses decreased by 24.1% to RMB3,001 million (US$411 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB3,956 million in the same period of 2022, mainly due to the decrease in provision of loans and receivables as a result of the decreased loan balance.
• Finance costs decreased by 86.9% to RMB40 million (US$5 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB306 million in the same period of 2022, mainly due to the increase of interest income from bank deposits and the decrease of interest as a result of our early repayment of our Ping An Convertible Promissory Notes and other dollar debt.
• Other losses increased to RMB56 million (US$8 million) in the third quarter of 2023 from RMB7 million in the same period of 2022, mainly due to the decrease of government subsidies, partially offset by the decrease in foreign exchange losses.

NET PROFIT
Net profit was RMB131 million (US$18 million) in the third quarter of 2023, compared to RMB1,355 million in the same period of 2022, as a result of the aforementioned factors.

EARNINGS PER ADS
Basic and diluted earnings per American Depositary Share ("ADS") were both RMB0.04 (US$0.01) in the third quarter of 2023. Each two ADSs represents one ordinary share ("Share").

BALANCE SHEET
The Company had RMB39,781 million (US$5,452 million) in cash at bank as of September 30, 2023, as compared to RMB43,882 million as of December 31, 2022. Net assets of the Company amounted to RMB94,325 million (US$12,928 million) as of September 30, 2023, as compared to RMB94,787 million as of December 31, 2022.

Conference Call Information
The Company's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, November 13, 2023 (9:00 A.M. Beijing Time on Tuesday, November 14, 2023) to discuss the financial results. For participants who wish to join the call, please complete online registration using the link provided below in advance of the conference call. Upon registering, each participant will receive a set of participant dial-in numbers, the event passcode, and a unique access PIN, which can be used to join the conference call.

Registration Link: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10183871/fae48531ac

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.lufaxholding.com.

The replay will be accessible through November 20, 2023, by dialing the following numbers:

About Lufax
Lufax is a leading financial services enabler for small business owners in China. The Company offers financing products designed principally to address the needs of small business owners. In doing so, the Company has established relationships with 91 financial institutions in China as funding and credit enhancement partners, many of which have worked with the Company for over three years.

Exchange Rate Information
This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB7.2960 to US$1.00, the rate in effect as of September 30, 2023, as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Lufax's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Lufax has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends, which involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about Lufax's goals and strategies; Lufax's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; expected changes in Lufax's income, expenses or expenditures; expected growth of the retail credit enablement; Lufax's expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its services; Lufax's expectations regarding its relationship with borrowers, platform investors, funding sources, product providers and other business partners; general economic and business conditions; and government policies and regulations relating to the industry Lufax operates in. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Lufax's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Lufax does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relations Contact
Lufax Holding Ltd
Email: Investor_Relations@lu.com

ICR, LLC
Robin Yang
Tel: +1 (646) 308-0546
Email: lufax.ir@icrinc.com

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SOURCE Lufax Holding Ltd