Provident Financial hails good recovery despite ‘distraction of unsolicited bid’
Bradford-headquartered Provident Financial has highlighted “good recovery” in its interim results for the six months ending on 30 June 2019.
The listed doorstep lender, which serves 2.4m customers, reported pre-tax profits of £74.9m for the first half of 2019, the same as the equivalent period for last year.
However, the company, which was the target of a failed £1.3bn hostile takeover bid by Leeds-headquartered Non-Standard Finance (NSF) earlier this year, saw revenue for the period drop £49m when compared to the same period in 2018. Revenue stood at £572m in 2018 and stood at £523m on June 30 2019.
The listed group revealed it spent £23.6m on exceptional costs relating to defended the bid from NSF during the period.
Provident Financial’s Board has this morning proposed reinstating an interim dividend of 9p per share (2018: nil).
Malcolm Le May, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Despite the distraction of the unsolicited bid from February to June this year, I am pleased with the Group’s operational and financial performance during the first half of the year.
“We have delivered strong new business volumes whilst maintaining stable delinquency trends and our first half results are in line with our internal plans.
“We are pleased to announce reinstatement of an interim dividend of 9.0p per share, which reflects our confidence in the ongoing recovery of the group.”
Le May added: “PFG has been through a substantial period of change over the past two years, adapting to a more stringent and continually evolving regulatory environment necessitating significant changes to each of our business models to ensure they are sustainable.
“The Board’s vision is to be the best and most trusted provider of credit to the under served across a broader range of products and distribution channels, in order to help our customers on a path to a better everyday life.
“With our existing base of 2.4m customers, our leading multi-channel distribution capabilities and the excellent recognition enjoyed by our brands, the Group is uniquely positioned to reach those who require finance and to provide credit products appropriate for them.”
The firm also announced this morning that Simon Thomas, Chief Financial Officer, has notified the Board of his intention to step down from the Board following the 2019 preliminary results announcement in March 2020 for personal health reasons.
Provident said: “Whilst we are saddened by Simon’s decision to depart, we respect it, and would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the Group. We look forward to continuing to work together over the next eight months during which time the Board will also be undertaking a process to identify a successor.”
