Inside information, Riga, 2018-08-30 11:34 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JSC Development Finance Institution Altum Group’s (hereinafter – Altum Group) outstanding financial instruments portfolio (gross) is of 471 million euros as at 30 June 2018, comprised by 16,264 contracts, including:

• guarantees portfolio of 211 million euros, the total number of contracts 9,859;

• loan portfolio of 210 million euros, the total number of contracts 6,218;

• investments in venture capital funds for the total amount of 50 million euros, the total number of projects financed by funds – 187.

Since the beginning of the year, Altum Group’s financial instruments portfolio has grown by 6.8% (30.9 mln EUR) in terms of volume and by 13% (1,862 projects) in terms of the number of projects. Among financial instruments, the fastest growth is seen in the guarantees portfolio, which has grown by 16% (29.1 mln EUR) in terms of volume and by 22% in terms of the number of projects.

The volume of the guarantees portfolio exceeded the volume of the loan portfolio in the 2nd quarter of 2018, which is in line with the objective of the Company’s Strategy for 2016 – 2018: to substantially increase the volume of operations by shifting the focus toward indirect financial instruments (guarantees).

Altum Group has operated at 2.5 million euros profit in 6 months of 2018.

Reinis Bērziņš, CEO of Altum:

“The first half of the year was characterized by steadily increasing demand for Altum financial instruments as the total volume of financial instruments portfolio grew close to half-a-million euros. Even more importantly, our financial instruments have facilitated the inflow of a much larger volume of private investments – about 1 billion euros – into the national economy of Latvia.

During the first six months we advanced our guarantees operations to foster business activity: we introduced a new financial instrument – portfolio guarantees, we have signed a microfinance guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund under the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation, we have upgraded the farmland purchase programme and, in cooperation with the relevant ministries, continued development of other Altum financial instruments. Thanks to the increasing volume of operations and cost efficiency, we have achieved sound financial results.

We have also implemented customer service improvements. From August this year, Altum customers applying for financing under state support programmes can submit their applications and required documents online only. Switching to an online-only application system has reduced the number of documents that customers have to submit. In turn, this means that decisions on granting state financing take less time.”

Altum is a state-owned company of Latvia that ensures access of the enterprises and households to the financial resources by means of support financial instruments - loans, guarantees, investments in venture capital funds - in the areas defined as important and to be supported by the state, thus developing the national economy and consequently enhancing mobilization of the private capital and financial resources. In June 2017 the Moody’s assigned to the Company a long-term credit rating Baa1 with a stable outlook. The assigned Moody’s rating of Altum is one of the highest credit ratings assigned to corporate entities in Latvia. On 24 October 2017 the bonds issued by Altum were quoted on a regulated market – Baltic Bond List of Nasdaq Riga.

         Laura Lapkovska          AS Attīstības finanšu institūcija Altum Investors Relationships Division          Tel.: +371 67774023, +371 26165699          E-mail: Laura.Lapkovska@altum.lv