PETALING JAYA: AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd’s gross financing growth target of 20% in financial year 2024 (FY24) will be achievable, especially as the group sees greater financing applications from customers with good credit scores.

       AEON Credit’s gross financing of RM11.2bil was up by 12% year-on-year (y-o-y) and 4% quarter-on-quarter, as growth was seen across the board with vehicle financing and personal financing being the key drivers.According to RHB Research, the strong growth was partly due to seasonality factors as the group saw encouraging demand for vehicle and personal financing products during the festive season.

       The group’s non-performing loan ratio rose to 3.1% at end of May 2023 as compared to 2.9% in February 2023, in which falls within AEON Credit’s guidance of 3% to 4% for financial year 2024.

       As for credit costs, it has exceeded RHB Research’s forecast by 3.9% for the first quarter of 2024, which is in contrast to the guideline for stable-to-slightly-higher credit costs y-o-y.RHB Research is currently awaiting more information from AEON Credit regarding asset quality management,

       However, it pointed out that the weakening macroeconomic environment would provide downside risks to the group’s asset quality outlook.