Regional expansion to bode well for CTOS

PETALING JAYA: CTOS Digital Bhd continues to reap benefits from its recent expansion into Indonesia and the Philippines.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the credit reporting agency said expansion into these oversea markets open significant avenues for growth.

The group said it plans to integrate its established expertise with local market insights to offer a comprehensive suite of credit centric solutions, thereby enhancing its competitive edge in the Asean market.

CTOS acquired an 80% stake in PT Prime Analytics Indonesia and a 100% stake in the Philippine-based financial technology startup FinScore last year.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1Q24), the credit reporting agency’s (CRA) net profit rose by 26% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM20.8mil, translating to an earnings per share of 0.90 sen.

This was attributable to the lower tax expense following the approval of the tax incentive of its subsidiary, CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, revenue increased by 20% y-o-y to RM71.6mil in the same period.

CTOS said revenue grew from all customer groups (namely key accounts, commercial and direct-to-consumer) with higher sales of CTOS Data Systems Reports and digital solutions.

Segment profit from local operations expanded by 5% y-o-y to RM25.2mil in 1Q24.

International operations, which comprises the newly acquired alternative data credit score businesses in Indonesia and the Philippines, contributed a revenue of RM8.5mil and a segment profit of RM0.3mil for the quarter.

Overall, CTOS has a positive outlook on its growth potential for the medium to long term, underpinned by its strategic expansions and robust operational performance across all business segments.