17th Oct 2024 14:25
(Alliance News) - ASA International Group PLC on Thursday said Chief Executive Officer Karin Kersten has decided to step down from her role.
The Worthing, England-based microfinance lender said her role as CEO ends on November 1, with Chris Low being promoted to executive chair that day. Further, Chief Digital & Information Officer Rob Keijsers will join the board and act as interim CEO.
Outgoing CEO Kersten will continue to work with the transitional management team for a smooth transition.
ASA added that it has started a search process for the role of permanent CEO, with incoming executive chair Low expected to become non-executive chair.
On September 27, ASA reported an interim pretax profit jump to USD28.3 million in the first half of 2024, from USD13.8 million a year ago.
ASA shares fell 1.9% to 70.60 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London.
The company noted it "delivered [a] strong operational performance in H1 2024 as the loan book grew following increased demand from clients".
Net profit surged to USD13.5 million from USD3.7 million a year ago.
The number of clients rose to 2.4 million from 2.2 million on-year.
ASA cited "improved performance in Pakistan, the Philippines, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya", which "made a key contribution to the group's financial performance due to increased loan demand and high loan portfolio quality in all these markets".
It added that the outlook for the rest of 2024 remained positive, noting its improved business performance, but "inflation and related foreign exchange movements are expected to continue to affect financial performance".
ASA said it expects to exceed its current compiled consensus regarding net profit, which it said was USD16.0 million for 2024, or 82% higher than USD8.8 million in 2023.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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