Freedom Holding Corp. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results

Company Continues Top Line Growth Trend with $655 Million in Reported Revenue

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 07, 2025-- 

Freedom Holding Corp. (the "Company") $(FRHC)$, a multinational diversified financial services holding company with a presence through its subsidiaries in 22 countries, today announced the financial results for their third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2025. Highlights include the following:

   -- 
 $655 million in revenue for the quarter 
 
 
   -- 
 Net income of $1.29 earnings per share, diluted, and $1.32 earnings per 
      share, basic 
 
 
   -- 
 Total expenses of $557 million 
 
 
   -- 
 $9.1 billion in total assets 
 
 
   -- 
 55% increase in overall customer base to 3.2 million 
 
 
   -- 
 $225 million in interest income, $178 million in insurance underwriting 
      income, $143 million in fee and commission income, $90 million in net 
      gain on trading securities. 
 

Third Quarter Financial Highlights:

The Company recognized revenue of approximately $655 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, compared to $419 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, a 56.5% increase. The Company's total expense was approximately $557 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to $307 million for the same period last year, an increase of approximately 81%.

Net income was approximately $78 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to $96 million for the similar period in the previous fiscal year, providing for basic and diluted earnings per share of $1.32 and $1.29, respectively. This compares to $1.65 and $1.63 per share, respectively, for the same period last year. Weighted average common shares outstanding used to compute diluted earnings per share for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 were 60.5 million and 59.3 million, respectively.

9 Months Year to Date Financial Highlights:

For the nine months ending December 31, 2024, the Company's revenue totaled approximately $1.7 billion compared to approximately $1.2 billion for the prior year period, an increase of 44%. The Company's operating expense was $1.4 billion for the period as compared to $840 million in the prior year period, an increase of 69%.

Net income was approximately $227 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2025, compared to $280 million for the same period in fiscal 2024, providing for basic and diluted earnings per share of $3.83 and $3.76, respectively. This compares to $4.79 and $4.73 per share, respectively, for the same period of the last fiscal year. Weighted average common shares outstanding used to compute diluted earnings per share for the nine-month periods ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 were 60.4 million and 59.3 million, respectively.

Balance Sheet Highlights:

Total assets were $9.1 billion on December 31, 2024, as compared to $8.3 billion on March 31, 2024, fiscal year-end. Net working capital at the end of the third fiscal quarter was $890 million, up from $675 million on March 31, 2024.

"Our ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, AI, and an offering of increasingly diversified fintech based services continues to bear fruit... "

"I am pleased to report that Freedom Holding Corp. delivered another record quarter on several fronts," stated Timur Turlov, the Company's founder and chief executive officer. "Our ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, AI, and an offering of increasingly diversified fintech based services continues to bear fruit as evidenced by the extensive growth of our customer base, particularly in our banking and insurance segments which grew by 56% and 82% respectively, as compared to our 2024 fiscal year end." Turlov continued, "From a consumer banking perspective, one of the most innovative products we've developed is our loyalty cashback program, which, among other things, offers clients the opportunity for cash back in the form of a unique currency linked to the value of Freedom Holding Corp. shares. Our cash back program is one of the most lucrative on the market and it allows our customers to be part of our great company. This approach is unique in our region's financial market and has resonated well with our growing customer base."

Turlov commented further, "We've been actively developing our Freedom digital ecosystem with Freedom Bank at its core, disrupting the regional banking and online retail services sectors with the delivery of innovative financial services and lifestyle products for our clients. The Bank now serves over 1.4 million customers who form part of the 522,486 individuals who use the Freedom SuperApp, where many of our breakthrough products are available. The SuperApp not only provides access to the best products and services available in the Freedom ecosystem, but also allows them to shop, compare, save money, and earn cash back."

"We expect that our continued development and deployment of new AI based analytics will have a positive impact on insurance risk assessments..."

"Commensurate with our record revenues, we experienced a significant increase in our operating expenses during the quarter, which included a near doubling of our advertising expenses and a similar increase in our Fee and commission expenses, which were in line with our expectations. We also saw a substantial increase in our Insurance claims incurred, net of reinsurance, which came in at $105 million. This was in line with our 125% increase in underwriting income and the growth of our customer base in this segment to nearly 1 million customers. We expect that our continued development and deployment of new AI based analytics will have a positive impact on insurance risk assessments and related expenses going forward," the CEO added. "During the quarter Freedom Insurance set a record of 1,399 online policies sold in a single day with more and more customers choosing our insurance products over our competitors'. We believe that this results from our products being 100% digital, diverse, and extremely convenient in terms of the payout of benefits. This was further evidenced by Freedom Insurance ranking in the top 5 for general insurance, and our Life division is in the top 3 for life insurance," noted the CEO.

Additional third quarter fiscal 2025 highlights:

Insurance underwriting income for the quarter was $177.5 million, an increase of $98.5 million or 125%, compared to the three months ended December 31, 2023 and there was a net gain on trading securities of $89.6 million during the quarter as compared to a net loss on trading securities of $5.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Fee and commission income for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $143.4 million, an increase of $23.3 million, or 19%, compared to the three months ended December 31, 2023, and there was a net gain on derivatives for the three months ended December 31, 2024 in the amount of $11.9 million, an increase of $54.5 million, or 128%, compared to the three months ended December 31, 2023.

The Company reported approximately 618,000 total retail brokerage customers as of December 31, 2024 as compared to approximately 530,000 as of March 31, 2024. Banking customer count totaled approximately 1,407,000 at the Company's subsidiary, Freedom Bank KZ, as of December 31, 2024, as compared to approximately 904,000 as of March 31, 2024.

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp., a Nevada corporation, is a diversified financial services holding company conducting retail securities brokerage, investment research, investment counseling, securities trading, investment banking and underwriting services, mortgages, insurance, and consumer banking through its subsidiaries, operating under the name Freedom Finance in Europe and Central Asia, and Freedom Capital Markets in the United States. Through its subsidiaries, Freedom Holding Corp. employs more than 8,200 people and is a professional participant in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the Astana International Exchange, the Republican Stock Exchange of Tashkent, and the Uzbek Republican Currency Exchange and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Freedom Holding Corp.'s common shares are registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and are traded under the symbol FRHC on the Nasdaq Capital Market, operated by Nasdaq, Inc. The Company has its main market of operations in Kazakhstan and has operations through its subsidiaries in 22 countries.

To learn more about Freedom Holding Corp., visit www.freedomholdingcorp.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements, including with respect to Freedom Holding Corp.'s (the "Company") potential for future growth and success, and the ongoing development and deployment of technology, services, and products that would continue to sustain future growth or improve related expenses. All forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "expect," "new," "plan," "seek," and "will," or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, and events. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in, or anticipated by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect such forward-looking statements include certain economic, business, and regulatory risks and factors identified in the Company's periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no obligation to update

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February 07, 2025 08:36 ET (13:36 GMT)