CREDIT group Provident Financial says it should announce full-year figures that are in line with market expectations of underlying pre-tax profits of £291m.
The Bradford-based lender is Yorkshire’s only FTSE-100 company, having replaced Morrisons in December, following a 40% rise in its share price during 2015.
Provident Financial’s chief executive Peter Crook said: “All our businesses have traded well through the final quarter of the year and our funding position remains strong.”
The lender’s three divisions – Vanquis Bank, Moneybarn and its consumer credit division – all reported positive trading in this morning’s update to the stock market.
It said Vanquis Bank “continued to deliver strong growth and good margins through the fourth quarter of the year”.
Car finance business Moneybarn, which Provident Financial acquired for £120m in August 2014, has “continued to enjoy strong new business volumes” with receivables showing year-on-year growth of about 45%.
Its consumer credit division, which includes the Satsuma brand, is expecting to report profits “marginally above 2014”. Last year it restructured, removing nearly 500 jobs after it replaced hundreds of administrative clerks in its home credit business with a technology solution.
It said the home credit business has changed to become “a smaller but leaner, better-quality, modern business focused on returns”.
Provident Financial will announce its preliminary results for 2015 on February 23.
