Freedom Holding Corp. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

LEASES

LEASES

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

At March 31, 2023, the Group was obligated under a number of noncancellable leases, predominantly operating leases of office space, which expire at various dates through 2033. The Group's primary involvement with leases is in the capacity as a lessee where a Group company leases premises to support its business.

The Group determines whether a contract is or contains a lease at inception of the contract and whether that lease meets the classification criteria of a finance or operating lease. Operating lease liabilities and ROU assets are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term. The future lease payments are discounted at a rate that estimates the Company’s collateralized borrowing rate for financing instruments of a similar term and are included in accounts payable and other liabilities. The operating lease ROU asset, included in premises and equipment, also includes any lease prepayments made, plus initial direct costs incurred, less any lease incentives received. Rental expense associated with operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, and generally included in occupancy expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Certain of these leases also have extension or termination options, and the Company assesses the likelihood of exercising such options. If it is reasonably

certain that the Group will exercise the options to extend, then the Company includes the impact in the measurement of its right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.

When readily determinable, the Company uses the rate implicit in the lease to discount lease payments to present value; however, the rate implicit on most of the Group's leases are not readily determinable. Therefore, the Company must discount lease payments based on an estimate of its incremental borrowing rate.

The table below presents the lease related assets and liabilities recorded on the Company's consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023:


	Classification on Balance Sheet	December 31, 2023
Assets
Operating lease assets	Right-of-use assets	$	34,180
Total lease assets		$	34,180

Liabilities
Operating lease liability	Lease liability	$	34,614
Total lease liability		$	34,614

The following table presents as of December 31, 2023, the annual maturities of the lease liabilities:


Leases maturing during twelve months ended March 31,
2024	$	4,108
2025	11,228
2026	10,566
2027	8,517
2028	5,770
Thereafter	4,387
Total payments	44,576
Less: amounts representing interest	(9,962)
Lease liability, net	$	34,614
Weighted average remaining lease term (in months)	31
Weighted average discount rate	15		%

Lease commitments for short-term operating leases as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 was approximately $576 and $258, respectively. The Group's rent expense for office space was $725 and $2,344 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023, $1,376 and $2,492 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2022, respectively.

The Group has leases that involve variable payments tied to an index, which are considered in the measurement of operating lease right-of-use (ROU) assets and operating lease liabilities.