Aeon Credit Service (Asia) has reported a surge in its credit-card and personal loan business, lifting net profit 10.1 per cent to HK$112.2 million.
The performance ranks Aeon as one of the most profitable finance service companies in Hong Kong, rivalling Hang Seng Bank's 24.6 per cent return on equity of about 24.26 per cent.
Interest income was up 6.6 per cent to HK$406.8 million, which resulted mainly from the growth in personal loan business, the group said, and was helped higher by a drop in funding costs as interest rates declined in Hong Kong.
An aggressive marketing campaign 'Cash in a flash', launched on February 12 had helped personal loans to a new high of HK$273.5 million, it said.
The locally listed unit of the giant Japanese group, Aeon was reporting yesterday on results for the six months to August 20.
With the number of Aeon cardholders increasing over the period by 47,000 to 770,000, Aeon Credit has begun to rival Citibank for the No 5 ranked card issuer in Hong Kong (behind HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Hang Seng).
But the surge in business has not come without cost.