LASCO Financial Services plans to add three locations to its microfinancing business segment.

The company was, however, tight-lipped on the new locations and its related agency network.

LASCO Financial currently operates five micro-loan locations in downtown Kingston, Papine, Half-Way-Tree, Linstead and its Red Hills Road office. In its just released financial statements for the year ended March 2016, the company says it will continue to pursue expansionary activities in its existing business as well as the microfinancing line, as part of its growth strategy.

Last September, the cambio and remittance service provider launched the micro-financing business to assist small entrepreneurs and to a smaller extent, the distribution deal for unlocked smartphones for Huawei.

Recently, it was accredited by the Development Bank of Jamaica and was approved for a credit line of $100 million for onlending to micro and small businesses.

LASCO Financial posted consolidated net profits of $203.3 million, reflecting a 6.4 per cent increase over the previous year. The increase in net profit was led by gains in revenue of $157 million, to close at $870 million year over year.

Total assets of the company grew by 13 per cent to close the year at $1.1 billion, while stockholder’s equity, at $995 million, increased by 22.4 per cent over the previous year.

During the financial year, LASCO Financial made significant investments to diversify its business lines, including the addition of a cambio location in Port Antonio and the launch of its Telecoms Division with the distribution deal for smartphones and wearable devices, according to its financial report.

Managing Director Jacinth Hall-Tracey, in an adjoining report, lamented the challenges it has faced throughout the year, particularly in the cambio and remittance industries; noting that “debanking was an ever-present risk, one which we expect to continue into the immediate future”.