TCS Group Holding PLC reports record profit for the period in 3Q'21 and 9M'21

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

TCS Group Holding PLC reports record profit for the period in 3Q'21 and 9M'21

• Total customers reached 18.5m in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: 12.1m)
• Group revenue grew 48% to RUB 71.7 bn in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: RUB 48.3 bn)
• Non-credit business lines reached 45% of revenue
• Net profit rose 31% to RUB 16.5 bn in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: RUB 12.6 bn)
• ROE reached 42.6% in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: 45.0%)

LIMASSOL, CYPRUS - 24 November 2021. TCS Group Holding PLC (LI: TCS, MOEX: TCSG) ("Tinkoff", "We", the "Group", the "Company"), a leading provider of online financial and lifestyle services via its Tinkoff ecosystem, today announces its consolidated IFRS results for the three months and nine months ended 30 September 2021.

Oliver Hughes, Co-CEO of Tinkoff Group, commented:

"We had another excellent quarter with a record high quarterly net profit of RUB 16.5 bn and ROE of 42.6%, underpinned by well diversified revenue streams and profitable expansion into new product areas.

We saw robust performance across our business lines, fuelled by the cross-selling power of the Tinkoff ecosystem, now serving more than 18.5m customers and growing. Recognizing Tinkoff's quality and role in Russia's financial system, the Central Bank of Russia has included Tinkoff Bank in the list of the country's systemically important financial institutions.

Most recently, we have launched Tinkoff E-commerce to better serve the needs of online merchants. Under the direction of Ilya Kretov, who joined us as Director of E-commerce, Tinkoff E-commerce will create new synergies with Tinkoff Business, taking our offering for businesses of all sizes to a new level.

In September we unveiled Tinkoff Private to serve the needs of the modern affluent consumer. It is our 'Swiss banker in a mobile app' solution, available both via the Tinkoff super app and Tinkoff Investments app.

Tinkoff Investments, Russia's largest brokerage by the number of active customers, is going from strength to strength. Leveraging the power of retail investors, we launched ECM and DCM advisory services. Most recently, we helped Renaissance Insurance and online real estate classifieds platform CIAN go public.

Tinkoff Capital Management Company has been licensed as a professional securities management operator, allowing it to manage customer assets. To provide broader investment opportunities in segments enjoying strong growth, Tinkoff Capital has set up three new exchange-traded funds (ETFs): the Tinkoff Cybersecurity Fund, Tinkoff Emerging Markets Fund and Tinkoff ESG Leaders Fund.

In terms of our own ESG journey, Tinkoff analysed and published its greenhouse gas emissions inventory on the website for the entire value chain for 2019 and 2020 baseline years. Total carbon footprint of the Group is significantly lower than classical financial institutions and IT companies generally show. We are committed to developing sustainably and you can expect more news on this front in due course.

As we continue to harness vast profitable growth drivers in Russia and lay the groundwork for capturing new opportunities further afield, I am also thrilled to have our Board member Pavel Fedorov joining me as a co-CEO from December 1st. This appointment will allow us to leverage our complementary strengths as we take the Group together to the next chapter in its exciting growth and capitalisation story."

 
Pavel Fedorov, Co-CEO of Tinkoff Group, added:
 

"I am excited to join Oliver, Stas and team Tinkoff as an executive. We have tremendous partnership culture within the Tinkoff Group, and I look forward to capturing many of the growth opportunities that we have in front of ourselves in Russia and expanding the business into new geographies.

While Tinkoff has already been recognized globally as one of fintech players that continuously raises the bar in terms of products, services, growth and profitability, we are just setting out on our journey of expansion to other geographies. Currently we are making a series of small sharply pointed moves to lay the groundwork for new opportunities and engaging the regulators in potentially attractive markets.

To succeed in capturing these growth opportunities in Russia and beyond we want to have sufficient dry powder for our medium-term plans. Our shareholders at the last AGM supported our ambition and have authorised the Board to have the right to approve potential further share capital issue of up to 5.0% of currently issued capital over the next three years.

Having these exciting opportunities in front of us with strong backing of our shareholders we will keep focusing on maintaining strong and growing profitability of the core Russian business, expanding into new geographies, developing new products and competences that enhance the customer experience and ultimately drive the value for our shareholders."

FINANCIAL AND OPERATING REVIEW

In 3Q'21, the Group's total revenue grew by 48% y-o-y to RUB 71.7 bn (3Q'20: RUB 48.3 bn). Gross interest income increased by 39% y-o-y to RUB 42.9 bn (3Q'20: RUB 31.0 bn), driven by the continued growth of our loan portfolio, customer base, and credit product range.

Gross interest yield decreased y-o-y to 25.0% in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: 26.8%), mainly as a result of changes in the loan mix as the share of credit cards in the net loan book declined below 50%. The interest yield on the Group's securities portfolio increased to 5.7% (3Q'20: 5.3%) following market trends.

In 3Q'21, our interest expense rose by 37% y-o-y to RUB 7.3 bn (3Q'20: RUB 5.3 bn) due to significant growth of retail and SME current account customer base and slightly as a result of a securitisation deal. Our cost of borrowing declined from 3.9% in 3Q'20 to 3.6% in 3Q'21 helped by growing share of current accounts in the funding mix, while it has started to go up sequentially relative to 2Q'21 due to increasing rate environment.

In 3Q'21, net margin grew by 38% y-o-y to RUB 34.9 bn (3Q'20: RUB 25.2 bn), primarily as a result of solid y-o-y net loan portfolio growth.

Cost of risk fell to 4.2% in 3Q'21 from 6.5% in 3Q'20. Our risk-adjusted net interest margin decreased from 14.2% in 2Q'21 to 13.1% in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: 12.6%).

Our non-credit business lines continue to deliver an increasing share of our revenue and bottom line thanks to growth of the customer base, our widened range of product offerings and continued monetisation efforts. In 3Q'21 non-credit revenue represented 45% of the Group's revenue and 21% of the Group's profit before tax.

At the end of 3Q'21, the Group had:
 

• 12.3m total retail current account customers with a total balance of RUB 431 bn
• over 596k total SME customers, with a total balance of RUB 111 bn
• over 2.6m total Tinkoff Investments customers and over RUB 540 bn in customer assets under custody

In 3Q'21, operating expenses increased 79% y-o-y to RUB 25.4 bn (3Q'20: RUB 14.2 bn) driven by continued investment in marketing and advertising for our new, growing business lines, as well as hiring of IT talent.

The Group reported a healthy quarterly net profit of RUB 16.5 bn in 3Q'21 (3Q'20: RUB 12.6 bn), supported by new customer acquisition and monetisation. As a result, ROE for 3Q'21 stood at 42.6% (3Q'20: 45.0%).

In 3Q'21, the Group continued to maintain a healthy balance sheet with total assets growing by 28% since the end of 2020 to RUB 1.1 trillion (31 Dec'20: RUB 859 bn).

The Group's gross loan book grew by 41% since the end of 2020 to RUB 631 bn (31 Dec'20: RUB 447 bn), while the net loan book increased by 47% to RUB 556 bn (31 Dec'20: RUB 377 bn).

The Group's NPL ratio decreased to 8.6% (31 Dec'20: 10.3%), while our loan loss provision coverage stood at 1.38x non-performing loans.

The Group's customer accounts increased by 24% since the end of 2020 to RUB 777 bn (31 Dec'20: RUB 627 bn).

Tinkoff's total equity rose by 28% to RUB 163 bn at the end of 3Q'21 (31 Dec'20: RUB 127 bn). As of 1 October 2021, the Group's statutory N1.0 ratio stood at 11.5%, its N1.2 ratio stood at 11.5%, and the N1.1 ratio stood at 10.0%.

GUIDANCE FOR FY'21 CONFIRMED AND UPDATED:

Tinkoff management confirms the previously communicated guidance for the financial year of 2021 under the assumption of a gradual recovery in economic activity, updating it with respect to solid asset quality dynamics:

• We expect our net loan portfolio growth to be over 50%
• We now expect cost of risk to be below 5% (previously 5% area)
• We expect cost of borrowing to be 3-4%
• We expect the share of non-credit revenues to be more than 40%
• We expect net profit to be at least RUB 60 bn

3Q'2021 AND POST-REPORTING PERIOD OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

Customer base and engagement growth has led to increased market share

• The Group had over 12.3 mn total Tinkoff Black customers as of 1 October 2021.
• As of 1 October 2021, Group MAU stood at 13.7 mn, Group DAU stood at 4.8 mn.
• Tinkoff Bank's credit card market share increased to 14.5% as of 1 October 2021, further solidifying its position as Russia's second largest credit card issuer.

Superior and innovative product offering combined with targeted marketing activities secure Tinkoff's place as a leading fintech brand

• In September, Tinkoff announced the launch of Tinkoff Private, a new offering in its ecosystem that will serve affluent customers. It is a digital private banking service that combines a wide range of both traditional and innovative services for affluent customers in the HNWI segment which is now available in the Tinkoff and Tinkoff Investments apps.
• In October and November, Tinkoff Capital Management launched six new exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Tinkoff ESG Leaders Fund, Tinkoff Cybersecurity Fund, Tinkoff Emerging Markets Fund, Tinkoff Semiconductors, Tinkoff BuyBack Leaders, and Tinkoff Eurostocks 50.
• In October, Tinkoff launched international transfers via phone number for clients of 10 banks in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
• In October, Tinkoff, together with CIAN, launched the first Russian service for conducting remote electronic real estate deals.
• In November, Tinkoff Investments launched a social trading platform Signal operating in synergy which the largest social network for investors - Pulse, which allows investors to follow strategies based on the investment ideas from the market professionals.

Market and industry associations recognised Tinkoff's strong performance

• In August, Tinkoff was named one of only 13 profitable digital banks globally, and the only profitable one in Russia, according to Boston Consulting Group.
• In August, Tinkoff was recognised for its innovative banking solutions as the Most Innovative Digital Bank in Central and Eastern Europe at Global Finance magazine's 2021 World's Best Digital Banks awards.
• In August, Tinkoff's services Tinkoff Cashier, Tinkoff Pro, and Tinkoff Koshelek were recognised at FINAWARD'21.
• In October, Tinkoff took the second place in the Forbes Woman 2021 rating, which ranks companies that offer the best working conditions for women.
• In October, Tinkoff won three Frank Premium Banking Awards. Its premium ecosystem services ranked first in the Best Premium Daily Banking category and second in the Best Premium Service Programme category, while Tinkoff Investments mobile app won in the Best Investment App for Premium Customers category.
• In October, Tinkoff Checkout won in the Best Financial Service for E-Commerce category at ECOM AWARDS, the first Russian professional awards for e-commerce and retail.
• In October, Tinkoff Credit Broker won Russia's largest award in the e-commerce sector, Large Turnover 2021, in the Payments category, being recognised as a company that provides retailers with the most beneficial and profitable payment acceptance services.

Corporate governance enhancements and new management appointments

• In October, Ilya Kretov joined the Tinkoff team as Director of E-commerce and will lead the new business line of Tinkoff E-commerce, an ecosystem of services for online businesses that operates within the scope of Tinkoff Business.
• In October, Vitaly Briedis was appointed CEO of Tinkoff Mobile.
• In November, Oliver Hughes and Pavel Fedorov were appointed as co-CEOs of Tinkoff Group (effective from 1st of December 2021) with an aim to enhance the Group's executive team to capture new growth opportunities in Russia and abroad.

Other corporate and ESG developments

• In October, Tinkoff Bank was added to the Bank of Russia's list of 13 systemically important lenders. The decision was based on many factors, including Tinkoff's strong business growth as well as its extensive customer base.
• In October, Tinkoff Investments for the first time acted as a bookrunner on an IPO - a placement by Renaissance Insurance Group.
• In October, Tinkoff Capital received a trust management licence, allowing it to manage customer assets.
• In November, Tinkoff analysed and published its greenhouse emissions gas inventory on the website for the entire value chain for 2019 and 2020 baseline years. Total carbon footprint of the Group is significantly lower than traditional financial institutions and IT companies generally show.

UK MAR

This announcement is released by TCS Group Holding plc and contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal Act) 2018 ("UK MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of UK MAR.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

The Tinkoff management team will host an investor and analyst conference call at 13:00 UK time (16:00 Moscow time, 8:00 US Eastern Time), on Wednesday, 24 November 2021.

The press release, presentation and financial statements will be available on the Tinkoff website at https://www.tinkoff.ru/eng/ir/financials/quarterly-earnings/

To participate in the conference call, please use the following access details:

A live webcast of the presentation will be available at:

https://www.webcast-eqs.com/tcsgroup20211124

Please register approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.

About Tinkoff Group

TCS Group Holding PLC is an innovative provider of online retail and SME financial services. It includes Tinkoff Bank, its mobile virtual network operator Tinkoff Mobile, Tinkoff Insurance, its asset management company Tinkoff Capital, Tinkoff Software DC, a network of development hubs in major Russian cities, and Tinkoff Education. The Group is currently developing Tinkoff ecosystem, which offers financial and lifestyle services.

The Group was founded in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since October 2013.

The Group's key business is Tinkoff Bank, a fully online bank that serves over 18.5m customers and forms the core of the Tinkoff ecosystem. Tinkoff is the 3rd largest retail bank in Russia in terms of active client-base.

Tinkoff Bank is the second largest player in the Russian credit card market, with a share of 14.5%. The 3Q'21 IFRS net profit of TCS Group Holding PLC amounted to RUB 16.5 bn. The ROE was 42.6%.

With no branches, the Group serves all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call centre. The centre is staffed by over 10,000 employees, making it one of the largest in Europe. To ensure smooth delivery of the Group's products, the Group has a nationwide network of over 10,000 representatives.

Global Finance named Tinkoff Bank the world's Best Consumer Digital Bank in 2020 and 2018, and the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Russia in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2015. Tinkoff was also named the Best European Retail Bank of the Year by Retail Banker International in 2020. In 2021, the Banker recognised Tinkoff Bank as Russia's Best-Performing Bank. The bank's mobile app has been consistently praised by local and global independent experts as the best of its kind (in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 by Deloitte and in 2018 by Global Finance).

 
Forward-looking statements

Some of the information in this announcement may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Group and Tinkoff Bank. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will", "could," "may" or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. The Group and Tinkoff Bank wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. The Group and Tinkoff Bank do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of the Group and Tinkoff Bank, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in the industries the Group operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to the Group, Tinkoff Bank and their respective operations.