Month: November 2013
GLF opened its new POS in Koh Kong Province
25 Nov 2013
On 25 November, 2013, GL Finance (GLF) opened its new POS in Koh Kong Province. This new POS is located inside HONDA DONG TUNG, Honda’s authorized dealer which is now GLF’s 42nd sales office in Cambodia.
Koh Kong Province located at the most south-western part of Cambodia. It is one of the biggest provinces in the whole country. After national government policy encouraged people to live in Koh Kong, there has been a net influx of people. It is estimated that the average annual growth rate in Koh Kong is 16 per cent. Koh Kong’s towns have developed rapidly partially in response to market pressures from Thailand and because of in-migration from other parts of Cambodia
GLF opened its new POS in Preah Vihear Province
22 Nov 2013
On 22 November, 2013, GL Finance (GLF) opened its new POS in Preah Vihear Province. This new POS is located inside HONDA PREAH VIHEAR, Honda’s authorized dealer which is now GLF’s 41st sales office in Cambodia.
Preah Vihear is a province of Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap to the west, Kampong Thom to the south and Stung Treng to the east. Its northern boundary forms part of Cambodia’s international border with Thailand and Laos.
GLF opened its new POS in Prey Chhor district, Kampong Cham Province
21 Nov 2013
On 21 November, 2013, GL Finance (GLF) opened its new POS in Prey Chhor district, Kampong Cham province. This new POS is located inside HONDA SEANGRANET, Honda’s authorized dealer which is now GLF’s 40th sales office in Cambodia.
Prey Chhor District is a central district of Kampong Cham Province surrounded by other Kampong Cham districts. The District is easily accessed by road from Kampong Cham city, Phnom Penh and Kampong Thom. Its capital is a busy market town that lies at an important crossroads and on National Highway 7 between Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham.
GLF opened its new POS in Svay Rieng Province
20 Nov 2013
On 20 November, 2013, GL Finance (GLF) opened its new POS in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia. This new POS is located inside HONDA CHINGLONG, Honda’s authorized dealer which is now GLF’s 39th sales office in Cambodia.
Svay Rieng is a province of Cambodia. Located in the southeast, the province juts into Vietnam, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. The only other Cambodian province to border Svay Rieng is Prey Veng.
GLF opened 2 new POSs in Siem Reap Province
15 Nov 2013
On 15 November, 2013, GL Finance (GLF) opened 2 new POSs in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. These new POSs are located inside HONDA SENG HOUT and HONDA SIEM REAP1 which are Honda’s authorized dealers and are now GLF’s 37th and 38th sales office in Cambodia.
Siem Reap is the 10th largest province in Cambodia. With a population of about 896,000, it ranks as the 6th largest in the nation.
1. HONDA SENG HOUT
2. HONDA SIEM REAP1
GL Turns the Corner in Q3 (Final)
14 Nov 2013
SET-listed motorcycle leasing firm Group Lease Public Company Limited today (Nov 14, 2013) reported a sizable drop in profits in the 3-month period ending September, but the company’s top management has expressed confidence that the worst is over and profitability will pick up significantly from now on.
Revenue in the third quarter jumped 48.69% to 389.9 million baht from the same period last year on the back of aggressive sales which has become GL’s corporate hallmark. However, net profits dropped 56.92% to 45.6 million baht from 105.9 million baht over the same period. For the nine-month period ending September, revenue jumped 57.49% to 1,080 million baht while net profits were 9.32% lower at 227 million baht.
GL chairman and chief executive Mitsuji Konoshita attributed the lower performance in the third quarter to high provisions for bad and doubtful debts that were necessitated by late payments by clients. There were also larger-than-expected losses from low resale value of re-possessed motorcycles. He said these were the results of the general economic slowdown, political uncertainty and flooding in several Central Plains provinces.
According to GL’s filing with the SET today (Nov 14, 2013), provisions for bad debts and doubtful accounts rose from 8.59 million baht in the third quarter last year to 96.20 million baht in the same period this year. The jump was in line with the company’s continuously aggressive expansion of its hire-purchase portfolio over the past year. The large increase in provisions was also made from a very low base last year and reflected more conservative provisioning criteria that were enforced at the end of 2012.
Mr. Konoshita stated that GL’s management is not concerned with the lower profits in Q3 since the outlook in the current quarter and well into next year looks very promising. Sales revenue has continued to grow substantially while the overall market sentiments have now started to improve. The high provisions for Q3 can be (partially) reverted back to profits in the future once overdue accounts return to pay.
Another factor that will have an important bearing on future profitability is GL’s operations in Cambodia. “All start-up expenses for the Cambodian business have been consolidated in Q3. We will reach the break-even point there in the current quarter, which means from next year onwards we will start booking profits from Cambodia,” Mr. Konoshita stated.
On top of motorcycle leasing, GL has recently entered into an agreement with Siam Kubota Corporation to take over the financing of Kubota agricultural machinery sales in Cambodia while it has also been negotiating to take over a sizable micro-finance firm there. Owing to the strong growth potentials in Cambodia, Mr. Konoshita stated that overall profitability there could match or surpass that of Thailand in the next few years.