Further growth on horizon for credit lender

CREDIT lender International Personal Finance today said it is well positioned to deliver further growth as profits rise.

In an interim management statement, the Leeds-based business reported an increase in pre-tax profit of £3.6m to £12.7m in the first quarter and a rise in revenue of 17% to £194.9m. Customer numbers increased year-on-year by 7% to 2,571.

Reported profit from the lender’s biggest market, Poland and Lithuania, increased to £7.8m.

Chief executive officer, Gerard Ryan, said: “I am pleased to report a positive start to the year with good levels of growth and profit achieved. In early April we successfully refinanced our eurobond at a materially lower cost and today’s announcement of a share buyback of approximately £50m to reduce the capital ratio to around 45% demonstrates our commitment to further increasing shareholder value.  We are well positioned to deliver further growth as the year progresses.”