Mortgages and savings boost for Skipton Building Society

SKIPTON Building Society has seen its pre-tax profits for the first half of this year eclipse the level achieved during the whole of 2011.

The mutual said its profits were primarily boosted from a £12m lift in the performance of its mortgages and savings division, which posted a pre-tax profit of £3.9m compared to a loss of £8.1m in the first half of 2011.

Pre-tax profits across the building society were £22.3m in the first half of 2012, up from £6.3m in the first half of 2011 and compared to £22.2m for the whole of last year.

David Cutter, Skipton’s group chief executive, said: “I am pleased to announce the increase in our profitability and overall performance over the past six months which is the result of our ongoing clear strategy of prudent growth, balanced with cautious management of our business and a steadfast focus on the needs of our members.

“We are not complacent as we enter the second half of 2012, given the continued economic challenges facing the Eurozone in particular and the UK in general.
 
“However, we remain confident that the strength of our diversified Skipton Group, coupled with our plans for managing future challenges which might emerge, will continue to stand us in good stead as we provide a reliable haven for meeting our members’ financial needs.”

Estate agency profits rose by £4m, driven by Skipton’s Connells group arm which recorded pre-tax profits of £18.9m. Connells saw an increase in house sales of 4.4% compared to the first half of 2011.

Skipton’s mortgage servicing business, Homeloan Management Limited (HML), made a profit of £100,000 following a loss of £3.2m in the corresponding period last year.

The building society’s Core Tier 1 capital ratio, a signal of its strength, increased, year-on-year, to 10.88%.