Blue Finance has once again been rewarded Kauppalehti Achievers-certificate. The certificate, given only to a small number of Finnish companies, shows that in terms of financial capacities, the company is included among both the top companies in Finland as well as the companies in its particular field. This is the sixth time in a row Blue Finance has received the certificate, which means that the company has also received the distinguished Recurring Achievers -badge.

Blue Finance, a company providing international consumer credit and business financing, has received the Kauppalehti Recurring Achievers -badge. Only 2 percent of Finnish limited liability companies are able to reach this honour, which is awarded for companies that have received at least 50 points in Alma Talent’s Achievers-grading for five years in a row.

Having been awarded the Achievers-certificate since the year 2016, Blue Finance’s Recurring Achievers -badge is based on the accounting periods between 2016/06 and 2021/05. Based on the comparison, Blue Finance has been ranked as one of the best companies among all the Finnish companies as well as all the companies in its field. Blue Finance was compared to companies providing other financial service activities except insurance and pension funding.

The Achievers-ranking examines a company’s operation in six areas: a positive growth development, established operations, good profit and profitability, strong financial structure, and continuing liquidity that can ensure the company’s operation. Based on expert evaluations, the revenue of Blue Finance (LLC) in the long term has been good: the combined net earnings from the last five fiscal years were 33.9 million euros, with the average yearly gain being 6.8 million euros. On the long term, the gain on equity has been 18.4 percent.

”We are extremely happy and proud to receive this great honour and of the fact that our company is among the best in our field. The Recurring Achievers -badge shows that our operation is also on the long term of high quality and secure”, says the chief executive officer Lauri Lehtonen.

Last year saw a slight dip – however, this did not have a large effect on net earnings

According to the expert evaluation, the net earnings of Blue Finance had a slight decrease (-0.1 percentage points) in the year 2021 compared to the previous year. Despite of this, the revenue was still clearly positive. Even though the company’s net earnings decreased, the percent of net earnings rose remarkably from the previous fiscal year (+7.5 percentage points). The experts also noted that in the long-term Blue Finance’s revenue has been good.

Even though the financial autonomy ratio of Blue Finance (LLC) showed some decrease (-3.4 percentage points) from the previous year, it was still on an excellent level. The company’s buffers for loss were 66.7 million euros at the end of the fiscal year, or 280.3 percent of the net revenue, which according to the expert evaluation supports well the company’s ongoing operation. As a result of small indebtedness, the company’s financial margin for manoeuvre was good, which allows the company to obtain further funding if needed. Furthermore, the evaluation determined that the company’s internal financing was in order and the debt sustainability was good.

The new Recurring Achievers heads for the future with a strong growth strategy

Blue Finance, which this year celebrated its 10th birthday, has executed several large-scale renewals in 2021. The company has finished the year-long process of platform renewal, which allows the company to better tackle the needs of customers, thus increasing its operation to a larger and better direction.

The company, having offices in Finland, Denmark, and Spain, has also extended its operation by establishing a new subsidiary in Poland. Blue Finance Polska, founded in the spring of 2021, officially started its operation in September by issuing a loan to its first customer in Poland.

”Blue Finance has a strong strategy for profitable growth. We aim to further our operation also in the future by developing new loan products and expanding into new market areas”, says Lehtonen.

Blue Finance took silver in the internal ranking of mid-sized companies in the Finnish fintech sector and was the largest company in its category, considering only comparable revenue.

Despite a difficult year, Blue Finance managed to improve its ranking

From last year’s third place, the company now reached second place in the internal ranking of mid-sized companies in the Finnish fintech sector. Based on comparable revenue in 2020, Blue Finance was the largest company in the scaleup category.

The listing was published by Helsinki Fintech Farm in August 2021 it is based on the latest statistics about the fintech sector in Finland.

The data collected by Helsinki Fintech Farm reveal that 2020 was a challenging year for the entire industry. In addition to the prevailing pandemic, the consumer credit business was negatively affected by the temporary 10% interest rate cap. Overall, the sector’s revenue decreased slightly from EUR 1.3 billion in the previous year, mainly due to the decline in the revenue of the largest companies affecting the sector.

“Once again, I am proud to say that despite an exceptional year, we have achieved excellent results compared to other players in the industry. We would not have achieved this without our top team. Digital solutions require top-level expertise and smooth collaboration, and this contributed to our excellent competitiveness”, says Lauri Lehtonen, CEO of Blue Finance.

Based on comparable revenue, Blue Finance is Finland’s largest fintech scaleup company

Blue Finance is ranked high in the Fintech Farm Helsinki scaleup listing. Scaleups are mid-sized companies that have been in business for 5-10 years. In the scaleup category, Blue Finance is the largest fintech company when only comparable revenue is considered. This is since revenue reported by UKKO.fi are not comparable, as it includes all salaries paid to its customers through the company’s website. Thus, a significant part of UKKO.fi’s revenue is margin-free sales, while for comparison purposes, Blue Finance Group’s revenue do not include similar margin-free sales.

Largest fintech scaleups in Finland 2020

Blue Finance Oy (Ltd) has expanded to Poland by establishing a new subsidiary, Blue Finance Polska. The subsidiary will provide consumer credit in Poland under the Nexu brand. The goal is for the operation in the future to also include corporate loans.

Blue Finance Oy has established a new subsidiary in Poland. Founded already in the spring of 2021 and providing consumer credit, Nexu.pl started operating in September by issuing a loan for its first customer in Poland.

“The new market will serve two purposes: Poland’s large consumer credit market will offer us an opportunity for a steady growth, but at the same time it also divides our risks within a specific country. There are many factors in Poland that allow for an efficient operating, such as established procedures, a clear legislation which is a result for the long history of market operation, good infrastructure, and good collaborators”, says the Chief Executive Officer for Blue Finance Group Lauri Lehtonen.

Consumer credits on the rise – Poland’s economy has recovered after the pandemic

With the digitalization of households, the non-banking consumer credit market has experienced a clear rise in Poland since the beginning of last decade, and the number of loans issued have risen significantly also in 2021. According to Poland’s Credit Information Bureau (BIK) the value of the loans issued rose 78.2 % in October when compared to last year, and the number of loans was 62.5 % more than the corresponding period of time in 2020. The most typical loan products in Poland are credit lines, fixed-term loans, and credit cards.

Compared to other EU countries, Poland has endured fewer damages during the COVID-19 pandemic both in terms of GDP and the employment. Before the pandemic, the country’s GDP had been growing for 27 years in a row, and the dip of 2020 (-2.7%) is now already behind. The projected economic growth for the current and the next year is at the estimated level of 5 percent. The special regulations for consumer credits set on account of the pandemic were lifted in 30.6.2021.

The inclusion of corporate loans next year

Blue Finance is entering the new and exciting market from a strong position by having 10 years of experience in the business. The goal for 2022, which will be the first full year of operation, will be redeeming start-up costs and breaking even with no profit or loss. Working to ensure that these goals are met is the motivated and capable team of Blue Finance Polska, who likewise have years of experience from the financial sector.

Poland’s large population of 45 million people offers possibilities for an extensive clientele which is the reason the operation is starting with consumer credit. The aim is to follow the example of Finland and Denmark and extend the operation during 2022 to include corporate loans. The market for small and medium corporations is approximately 119 billion euros, which is nearly double that of Finland’s.

”It is great to be able to start our operation in Poland. We have a good starting point for success: a motivated team and a market full of potential for growth. Our competitive advantage will absolutely be Blue Finance Group’s credit management platform AXON, which enables the use of big data in customer selection and controlling credit risk”, says the Country Manager of Blue Finance Polska Tomasz Zapala.