Resilience in Agricover's first-half 2024 results
Key figures:
- Agri-finance: loans and advances offered amounting to RON 3.36 billion, a 7.2% share of the local agricultural financing market
- Revenues of RON 810 million, of which RON 807 million from Agribusiness (sale of agricultural inputs)
- Earnings per share: the Agricover Group's earnings per share almost doubled year-on-year, reflecting the solid performance of its core segments, despite continued market challenges
- Launch of digital lending services for smallholder farmer segment
Notably, in continuation of the program for the digitalization services offered by the group, since the first half of this year, smallholder farmers (farming 10 to 100 ha) can apply for a credit card in a 100% digital process.
Segment-specific performance
In the agri-finance segment, Agricover Credit IFN continued its strategic expansion, resulting in a 6.2% increase in the number of customers and a 7.1% increase in average exposure per customer. The gross book value of loans and advances increased to RON 3.36 billion, reflecting a 15.7% jump from December 2023. Pre-tax profit was RON60.2 million, up 4.7% from H1 2023.
The non-performing loan ratio remained low at 3.74%, thanks to proactive risk management and in-depth knowledge of the agricultural sector, which allows the construction of personalized offers that are close to the needs and possibilities of customers.
The Agribusiness segment recorded revenues of RON 807 million, in an expected decrease of 23.8% compared to the previous 12-month period, due to lower prices of agricultural raw materials, but also reduced demand for inputs from farmers in a difficult macroeconomic and weather context.
Customer base and market developments
Agricover Group served a solid customer base of over 10,000 farmers in the first six months of 2024. Strong relationships with farmers, developed through a direct access model, have enabled the Group to meet evolving customer needs. Agricover continues to prioritize financial support to farmers in a challenging environment, with a focus on ensuring business continuity.
Digital innovation and customer base expansion
A central component of Agricover's growth strategy is digitization, helping farmers to adopt modern practices, precision farming, new technologies. By launching the My Agricover platform, which opens up new customer segments and facilitates access to finance in a simplified and efficient way, the Group offers farmers a 100% digital channel through which they can quickly and easily access financial solutions, thus helping to optimize operations and increase customer recurrence.
Through My Agricover, Agricover Group manages to reach smaller farmers operating areas of up to 100 ha. This digital platform not only expands the Group's customer portfolio, but also helps to retain existing customers through an enhanced digital experience.
While market volatility persists, the Agricover Group remains well positioned to face future challenges by leveraging its deep expertise in the agricultural sector. The Group's solid performance in the Agrifinance segment and the resilience of the Agribusiness operations underline its commitment to support Romanian agriculture through financial innovation and sustainable business practices.
About Agricover Holding
Agricover Holding is a group of companies active in the European agribusiness sector. With over 23 years of industry experience and an entrepreneurial approach to business development, Agricover is a generator of innovative solutions that transform businesses and farmers' lives for the long term. Agricover Holding comprises the business lines Agricover Distribution, specialized in the distribution of agricultural inputs, Agricover Credit IFN, a non-bank financial institution specialized in financing farmers and Agricover Technology, through which farmers have access to the latest innovations in global digital agriculture.