Dolla Financial Services Limited kicked off the 2025 financial year with continued momentum in loan portfolio growth and revenue generation, fueled by the strategic deployment of funds raised in its successful $1.65 billion capital raise at the end of 2024.

The update was shared during the Mayberry Investor Briefing held on May 15, where Dolla’s leadership addressed both the company's performance and its strategic focus moving forward.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, Dolla’s interest income surged by 38% year-over-year to $502 million, up from $364 million in Q1 2024. This was driven by a 51% increase in the loan portfolio, which reached $4.3 billion, reflecting effective capital deployment and growing demand across Dolla’s secured business lending channels.

Despite this topline performance, net profit for the quarter fell 17% to $116.6 million, compared to $139 million in the prior year, with profit before tax down 21% to $120 million. This was largely attributed to higher provisioning for credit losses and a 57% increase in administrative expenses, including staffing expansions at Ultra Financier, Dolla’s wholly owned subsidiary, and increased marketing spend.

According to Group CFO Trevene McKenzie, “The primary driver of the decline in profitability was the write-off of an irrecoverable bad debt identified during our quarterly portfolio review. Additionally, we incurred higher staffing and promotional costs aligned with our growth strategy, including major campaigns for our ‘One and Ready’ loan product.” She added, “That write-off was a one-off event, and we expect to see normalization in Q2 and Q3. However, we must also consider that our loan portfolio grew by over a billion dollars in the last quarter, which naturally increases provisioning levels.”

As of March 31, 2025:

• 91% of Dolla’s loan book comprised business loans, 86% of which were secured.
• Non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at 11.5%, slightly above the company’s internal target but expected to normalize in coming quarters as liquidation efforts on large, asset-backed loans progress.
• ECL (Expected Credit Loss) provisioning increased in line with the expanded portfolio and was influenced by larger average ticket sizes at Ultra Financier, where one or two large defaults can skew consolidated NPL ratios.

Dolla remains committed to maintaining a healthy capital structure while continuing its growth trajectory. “We are managing our debt-to-equity ratio closely,” McKenzie said. “This is a cash business, and we are heavily debt-funded, but we’re also growing income to support equity growth and align with our internal targets.”

CEO Kenroy Kerr reinforced the company’s long-term growth strategy. “From a strategic perspective, our focus is on improving bottom-line profitability, innovating our product lines, and maintaining strong risk controls. We’ve seen growth over the last three quarters, despite the Q1 write-off, and we’re confident in our ability to deliver continued growth over the upcoming quarters.”

Kerr acknowledged the decline in share price but emphasized fundamentals. “While we don’t control market pricing, we believe continued growth in profitability and revenue will be reflected in the share price over time.”

On the operations front, Dolla is investing in technology to improve efficiency and scalability. “As we grow, we need to scale,” Kerr stated. “We’ve been actively exploring automation across all stages, application, adjudication, and collections. It’s not something that will happen overnight, but we’ve started phasing in systems to improve operational efficiency.”

In terms of portfolio quality and product innovation, Kerr highlighted the success of the “One and Ready” campaign targeting taxi operators, which significantly boosted interest income last quarter. “We are very data-driven and continuously assess which sectors and products deliver the best returns, both in income and portfolio quality. That’s how we’ll continue to grow smartly.”

Geographically, the company operates 10 physical locations across Jamaica but maintains presence in all 14 parishes via mobile sales officers. “Our team is always on the road,” said Kerr. “It’s not about locations, it’s about people actively driving the business forward.”

While Dolla remains focused on MSMEs, it also offers consumer lending products. “We do have products that target salaried individuals,” Kerr noted, “but our emphasis will always be on small businesses, helping them take the next step forward. We’re proud of the growth stories we’ve seen from our customers, and we’re proud to be part of those journeys.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, Kerr outlined three top priorities: strengthening credit risk models, improving collections, and empowering staff. “We want every team member to operate like entrepreneurs. Our mission is sustainable profit growth and capital optimization. That’s our focus for the rest of 2025.”