Last year, the listed group generated PLN 220 million worth of cash EBITDA, up by 10% compared to 2022. This is the highest result in BEST Capital Group’s history. The Group also spent a record amount on purchasing claim portfolios last year. In 2023, BEST Capital Group bought claim portfolios with a nominal value of nearly PLN 2.1 billion for PLN 311 million.
BEST Group ended 2023 with nearly PLN 385 million of claim repayments due to the Group, compared to over PLN 372 million worth of repayments in 2022. The Group’s net profit for the 2023 amounted to PLN 51.1 million, compared to PLN 143 million a year earlier. The lower net profit was dictated by the result on the revaluation of the managed portfolios (PLN 30.7 million in 2023, compared to PLN 129.4 million a year earlier).
BEST Group entered 2024 with a claim portfolio worth PLN 1.34 billion. Last year, the value of the portfolios owned by BEST Capital Group increased by more than 20%. The nominal value of the estimated remaining collections from BEST Capital Group’s claim portfolio (ERC) increased by 24% to PLN 3.03 billion in 2023.
The record purchases of claim portfolios were financed by own funds, backed by borrowing. In 2023, BEST S.A. issued bonds worth PLN 169 million, which is the highest level since 2017. The Group’s net debt at the end of 2023 stood at PLN 622 million, and the net debt to equity ratio was at a safe level of 0.83.
– For us, 2023 stood for intense work in a challenging macroeconomic and political environment, ending with satisfying operational and financial results. We have taken another step towards achieving the Group’s goal for the coming years, which is to substantially increase the scale of our operations and income. We have the organisational potential to cement the Group’s position on the Polish market and to dramatically expand our business abroad. We do not plan to reduce our pace in 2024, in spite of the invariably challenging external environment, especially the high costs of financing. We aim to maintain a high level of investment in claim portfolios as well as to increase recoveries and cash EBITDA – notes Krzysztof Borusowski, President of the Management Board of BEST S.A.
The company plans to remain an active player on the bond market. – In addition to bank loans, issuing corporate bonds is one of the key sources of financing the Group’s growth. In 2023, we tightened our long-standing and profitable cooperation with the individual investor community, and successfully returned to issuing bonds for institutional investors with the largest bond offer in BEST S.A.’s history. In 2024, we also plan to be present on the market with an attractive offering for both institutional and individual investors – says Marek Kucner, Vice-President of the Management Board of BEST S.A.
