Strong performance sees dividend increase at Provident

PROVIDENT FINANCIAL has declared a 15% increase in its dividend on the back of a strong first-half performance.
The Bradford-headquartered finance group, whose brands include Vanquis Bank, Satsuma, glo and Moneybarn, increased its adjusted pre-tax profits by 35% to £126.6m as its interim dividend increased to 39.2p.
Exceptional items include £3.7m of amortisation from the acquisition of Moneybarn in August 2014 and costs of £11.8m, compared with £4.0m, from the restructuring of its consumer credit division (CCD).
In April it announced 493 job cuts, including 26 in Yorkshire, because technology had removed the need to have hundreds of administrative clerks across the country in its home credit business.
Peter Crook, Provident chief executive, said: “CCD has delivered increased first half profits, reflecting the successful repositioning of the home credit business as a leaner, better-quality business focused on returns rather than growth. This result is after stepping up the investment in the Satsuma online instalment lending business which is developing rapidly and represents a substantial market opportunity.
“The progress of the Moneybarn acquisition is very encouraging with growth in new business volumes and profits running ahead of our internal plans.
“In view of this strong trading performance, I am pleased to announce a 15.0% increase in the interim dividend which is fully supported by adjusted earnings per share growth of 29.9%, strong capital generation and an extremely robust funding position.
“Credit quality in all three businesses is very good and provides the foundation for delivering good quality growth for 2015 as a whole.”

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