creditshelf sees significant growth in fiscal 2018

Frankfurt am Main, Germany (ots) -

- Revenues doubled in 2018 to EUR 2.4 million. Strong fourth quarter
contributes EUR 0.8 million
- More than EUR 100 million of arranged loans since launch
- Average ticket size and average tenor markedly above fiscal 2017
- EBIT impacted by planned investment in business expansion
- Management Board expects growth to continue in 2019

creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft, a pioneer in digital financing for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, today published
its figures for the fiscal year 2018. creditshelf experienced a sharp
increase in business volume in 2018, with a year-on-year rise in
revenues of just less than 100 % to EUR 2.4 million (EUR 1.2 million
in 2017). This is chiefly attributable to a significant increase in
the volume of loans arranged via the creditshelf platform, from EUR
33.5 million in 2017 to a total of EUR 50.7 million in 2018. As a
result, creditshelf reported an uptick in borrower fees to around EUR
1.5 million (EUR 0.8 million in 2017). Investor fees introduced in
the second quarter of 2017 contributed around EUR 0.9 million to
revenues in 2018 (EUR 0.4 million in 2017), the first full year of
their application.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in 2018 were impacted by
investment in business expansion, as had been expected, and amounted
to EUR 5.4 million (EUR 1.1 million in 2017). This is mainly
attributable to higher personnel costs of EUR 3.8 million (EUR 1.1
million in 2017) due to a planned increase in staffing levels and
one-time payments related to the IPO. creditshelf's workforce
expanded from 17 full-time equivalents (FTEs) at the beginning of
2018 to 33 FTEs at year-end, December 31. Moreover, expenses for
marketing and advertising rose to EUR 1.1 million (EUR 0.2 million in
2017) as a result of activities designed to establish the creditshelf
brand.

Non-current assets at year-end December 31, 2018 were EUR 3.2
million, and therefore above the figure for year-end 2017 (EUR 1.9
million). In particular, there has been a rise in intangible assets,
driven by investments in technology and the risk platform, totalling
EUR 2.4 million (EUR 0.5 million at year-end 2017). Current assets
rose as a result of the successful IPO on July 25, 2018 to EUR 13.2
million (EUR 2.3 million at year-end 2017). Two capital increases and
the IPO lifted equity to EUR 11.5 million (EUR 1.2 million at
year-end 2017). The equity-to-total-assets ratio was therefore up
substantially, at 69.7 % (27.5 % in 2017). Moreover, non-current and
current financial liabilities grew to EUR 5.0 million, compared to
EUR 3.1 million at year-end 2017.

Dr Tim Thabe, creditshelf CEO, expressed great satisfaction with
the progress made in 2018: "As a pioneer in the field of digital SME
financing in Germany, creditshelf successfully continued to pursue
its growth goals in 2018. This shows that our strategy is working
effectively, and this fact is reflected in our results. There were
far more requests for loans and far more loans arranged via
creditshelf than ever before. The successful IPO and our investments
in software, staff and marketing have further strengthened our
position. We are convinced that we are only at the very beginning of
our business development journey. There is still a great deal of
untapped potential in the SME digital lending market. At creditshelf,
we are working each and every day to make the most of that
potential."

The value of loans requested via the creditshelf platform during
the period more than doubled year-on-year to in excess of EUR 1
billion in 2018 (EUR 471 million in 2017). creditshelf also saw the
volume of loans arranged step up by 51.2 % to EUR 50.7 million.
Despite the rapid rate of expansion, creditshelf has kept its high
standards of risk analysis. Simultaneously, the company experienced
an uptick in the average ticket size to EUR 745 thousand (EUR 424
thousand in 2017). The average tenor extended to 19.9 months (14.5
months in 2017). This led to a substantial improvement in margins.

To underpin its growth and to efficiently process loan requests,
creditshelf continues to develop its risk analysis tools. At the same
time, the company is engaged in discussions with leading banks in
order to position itself as a strategic partner. The Management Board
is therefore confident of its ability to exploit the opportunities
presented by a dynamic market marked by burgeoning demand for
alternative financing solutions, and to extend its market leadership
in digital SME financing in Germany.

The creditshelf Management Board expects revenues to rise by
between 90 and 130 % to EUR 4.4 to EUR 5.5 million in 2019.
Considering investments in continued growth, EBIT in fiscal 2019 is
forecasted to lie in a corridor of EUR 3.5 to EUR 4.5 million. In the
medium term, the Management Board continues to foresee the company
arrange loans to the tune of EUR 500 million annually.

The complete 2018 annual report is available to download today on
the investor relations website http://ir.creditshelf.com.

About creditshelf - www.creditshelf.com

creditshelf is a pioneer in the field of digital SME financing in
Germany that enables loans via its easy-to-use online platform
www.creditshelf.com. creditshelf, which was founded in 2014 and is
based in Frankfurt/Main, sees itself as a market and technology
leader in the fast-growing business of digital SME financing in
Germany. As a provider of SME financing, creditshelf has developed
its platform to meet the financing needs of German SME borrowers
through loans from investors interested in this asset class. In this
process, creditshelf offers to broker corporate loans and thus
enables small and medium-sized companies to access highly attractive
financing alternatives. At the same time, creditshelf offers
professional investors looking for attractive investment
opportunities access to SME financing. The core competencies of
creditshelf include the selection of suitable credit projects,
analysis of the creditworthiness of potential borrowers and the
provision of credit scoring and a risk-adequate pricing. creditshelf
receives fees for its services from both SME borrowers and investors.

Daily news from creditshelf on

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/creditshelf/
Twitter https://twitter.com/creditshelf
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/5317762/ and
Xing https://www.xing.com/companies/creditshelfag

Contact:
Further information:
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft
Birgit Hass
Head of Marketing and Communication
Mainzer Landstrasse 33a
60329 Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 (69) 348 77 24-13
birgit.hass@creditshelf.com
www.creditshelf.com

Press and Public Relations:
Thöring & Stuhr
Partnerschaft für Kommunikationsberatung
Arne Stuhr
Managing Director
Mittelweg 142
20148 Hamburg
Tel: +49 (40 )207 6969 83
Mobil: +49 (177) 3055 194
arne.stuhr@corpnewsmedia.de

Investor Relations:
creditshelf Aktiengesellschaft
Fabian Brügmann
CFO
Mainzer Landstrasse 33a
60329 Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 (69) 348 772 427
ir@creditshelf.com
www.creditshelf.com

cometis AG
Maximilian Franz
Unter den Eichen 7
65195 Wiesbaden
Tel: +49 (611) 20 58 55 22
franz@cometis.de
www.cometis.de

Original-Content von: creditshelf, übermittelt durch news aktuell