Message from Chairman

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

In 2019, the Thai economy slowed from 4.2% in 2018 to 2.4% due to the uncertainties resulting from the US-China trade war, the slow disbursement of Government budget and the effect of a strong Thai Baht on exports. Despite this, we have performed well. This was due mainly to;

An improvement in our net margin
Our adherence to our stringent Risk Management that enable us to manage our NPLs well
Our successful recovery of 2 major NPLs of total amount of Baht 71.25 million

As a result, the Company was able to achieve a record net profit after tax of Baht 231.57 million, an increase of 39% over the previous year. Earnings per share of the Company was correspondingly higher by 13 Satang per share or up 38% from 2018 to Baht 0.47 per share in 2019.

The Board approved the interim dividend payment of Baht 0.235 per share or 23.50 Satang per share for the Fiscal Year 2019 totaling Baht 115.97 million or 50.08% of the net profit. This is in accordance with the dividend policy of the Company of not less than 50% of the net profit after provision for legal reserve.

The Thai economy is expected to weaken further

From

2.4% in 2019

to less than

2.0% in 2020

Business Strategy

We believe 2020 will be another very challenging year. The Thai economy is expected to weaken further from 2.4% in 2019 to less than 2.0% in 2020, mainly as a consequence of COVID-19. While the full extent of the impact of COVID-19 is as yet uncertain, we can expect China and the Regional economies to be adversely impacted. Thailand will not be spared given that our economies today are closely intertwined.

Nevertheless, we believe that there will be opportunities even in adversity. It is our intention to continue growing our core businesses of factoring and equipment financing with prudence and strong discipline in credit risk management.

We will strive to explore new business initiatives and expand the range of our financial services to deepen and increase our client base.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Board endeavours to be a responsible corporate citizen and with high standard of corporate governance as this will guide us towards sustainable growth. We will further enhance and improve our corporate principles and as well as social and environment responsibility as these are our commitments to creating value for all stakeholders. In 2019, we implemented several programs, for instance, (i) 100% of IFS’ employees successfully completed online training for IT Cybersecurity, Code of Business Conduct, Anti-Money Laundering & Countering the Financing of Terrorism, Personal Data Protection Law and Handling of Confidential Information & Prevention of Insider Trading, (ii) improving the operating system and procedures to reduce papers, (iii) promoting information storage instead of hard copies and (iv) employee’s sharing and public service activities for holistic social and environment development in a sustainable way.

Fighting against all forms of corruption is high on IFS’ agenda. The Company has been certified as a member of the Private Sector Collective Action Coalition against Corruption (CAC) since 2017, and will continue to be recertified it in 2020.

Appreciation

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like record our sincere appreciation to Khun Suvait Theeravachirakul, who will step down as our independent director in April 2020, for his valuable contributions to the Board for more than 13 years. I would also like to welcome Khun Chayut Vishchuprapha to the Board.

My appreciation also to the shareholders, clients, business partners, bankers and all other stakeholders for their continuous support. Last but not least, I would also like to thank the efforts and determination of the management and staff who have performed their duties to ensure continued success of the Company in the past year and years to come.

Yours faithfully,

Tan Hai Leng, Eugene
Chairman