Company Reports Record Year, With 105% Increase in Reported Revenues
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN / ACCESSWIRE / June 14, 2024 / Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FRHC) ("Freedom", or the "Company"), a multi-national diversified financial services holding company with a presence through its subsidiaries in 20 countries, today announced its financial results for the 12 months ended March 31, 2024, or fiscal 2024.
Fiscal 2024 Highlights:
- Revenue totaled approximately $1.6 billion compared to $796 million for the prior fiscal year, an increase of 105%, primarily attributable to an increase in interest income, fee and commission income, and insurance underwriting income.
- Fee and commission income was $440 million, an increase of 35% from $327 million for fiscal 2023, driven by an increase in number of retail brokerage customers from 370,000 in 2023 to 530,000 in 2024, as well as increased trading volumes across key markets.
- Interest income increased by 181% to $828 million, as a result of an increase in interest income on trading securities, interest income on margin loans to customers, and interest income on loans to customers.
- Net income for the fiscal year was $375 million as compared to $206 million in 2023.
- Basic and diluted earnings per share were $6.37 and $6.33, respectively, for fiscal 2024. This compares to $3.50 and $3.45 for fiscal 2023.
- Total assets were $8.3 billion as of March 31, 2024, as compared to $5.1 billion as of March 31, 2023. The main increase was attributable to our proprietary trading portfolio which increased by 53% to $3.7 billion as of March 31, 2024 from $2.4 billion as of March 31, 2023, customer loans issued due to the loan portfolio of Freedom Bank KZ which increased by 68% to $1.4 billion as of March 31, 2024 from $826.3 million as of March 31, 2023, as well as margin lending, brokerage, and other receivables which increased by 341% to $3.7 billion as of March 31, 2024, from $376 million as of March 31, 2023.
- Acquisitions in Kazakhstan of Aviata LLP and Internet-Tourism LLP in April 2023, Arbuz in May 2023, ReKassa in July 2023 and DITel LLP in January 2024 contributed to revenue growth during the year. In addition, in November 2023, the board of directors approved a plan to expand the business by entering into the telecommunications market in Kazakhstan through our Freedom Telecom subsidiary.
- The Company opened new representative offices in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, and the Netherlands.
- The Company's Shapagat Non-Profit Corporate Fund, founded in August 2023, endeavors to support and contribute to sports, culture, and educational causes amongst local communities. In fiscal 2024, $2.9 million was committed to charitable endeavors, which included supporting the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), the "Teach for Qazaqstan" initiative, the construction of a new educational building at SDU University in Almaty and the design and construction of a sports hall for persons with disabilities in Uralsk. During the fiscal year, a new campus of the IQanat school opened in Kazakhstan, with its construction partially financed by the Fund.
- An inaugural Sustainability Report was published in December 2023, emphasizing the Company's dedication to ESG principles, covering personnel care, community impact, corporate governance, and key environmental data.
Corporate Governance and Compliance
As part of its commitment to strong governance and compliance, in October 2023 the Company appointed a new Chief Compliance Officer, focused on further improving Freedom's robust control framework and policies and investing in staff, tools, and technology to support best practice in customer onboarding and ongoing monitoring.
In January 2024 the Company appointed a new Chief Risk Officer, focused on further enhancing Freedom's comprehensive risk management framework and policies. This role is concentrated on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across the organization, ensuring that our operations are aligned with best practices in risk management.
In related news, and in line with its dedication to maintaining a robust legal and compliance infrastructure, the Company also appointed a new chief legal officer in May 2024. The position will oversee all legal matters for the enterprise, ensuring Freedom's operations comply with all relevant laws and regulations.
Outlook
In fiscal 2025 we expect to focus on further digital integration, expanding our market presence in Europe and Central Asia, and enhancing AI-driven customer solutions. We will also continue to seek to acquire financial services-related companies, complementary businesses, and financial and complementary technologies on an opportunistic basis, aligned with our acquisition strategy to expand our presence globally. In the US, we anticipate that our investment banking and our increased research capabilities will help us secure a greater foothold in the capital markets space.
We expect that our balance sheet will allow the Company to add complementary services through acquisitions and further increase our product offerings, leaving us optimally placed to expand our platform into additional markets as regulatory and market conditions dictate. In November 2023, consistent with our strategy to build a digital fintech ecosystem, our board of directors approved a plan to enter the telecommunications market in Kazakhstan through our Freedom Telecom subsidiary.
As part of our investment in strategic expansion, we expect to open new representative offices in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Denmark, which we believe will leave us well-positioned to further navigate evolving client needs.
About Freedom Holding Corp.
Freedom Holding Corp., a Nevada corporation, is a diversified financial services holding company conducting retail securities brokerage, securities trading, investment research, investment counseling, investment banking and underwriting services, mortgages, insurance, and commercial banking as well as several ancillary businesses which complement its core financial services businesses, all through its subsidiaries, operating under the name Freedom24 in Europe and Central Asia, and Freedom Capital Markets in the United States.
Freedom Holding Corp. is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and has operations and subsidiaries in 20 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, Cyprus, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and others.
Freedom Holding Corp.'s common shares are registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and are traded under the symbol FRHC on the Nasdaq Capital Market, operated by Nasdaq, Inc.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements, including with respect to our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and our objectives for future operations, as well as the capital investment required to be successful in any aspect of our strategic plans, and is subject to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. All forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "expect," "new," "plan," "seek," and "will," or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, and events. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in, or anticipated by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect such forward-looking statements include certain economic, business, and regulatory risks and factors identified in the Company's periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Information
Natalia Kharlashina
Public Relations
prglobal@ffin.kz
+77013641454
SOURCE: Freedom Holding Corp.
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