Morses Club performs 'strongly' in H1

Lender Morses Club said on Thursday that it had "performed strongly" during the six months ended 28 August and traded in line with market expectations.

Morses said its offerings had continued to evolve over the first half of the year in order to meet "changing customer needs" as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with its strategy of transitioning into being "a more complete provider" of non-standard financial products and services continuing apace.

In its digital lending division, customer numbers for both short-term and long-term lending increased during the period and stood at over 46,000 at the end of the half, an increase of 100% since the end of the 2021 trading year.

Gross loan book growth was 194% against year-end at £35.7m, while credit issued increased by 271% to £24.7m.

The AIM-listed group also stated that the quality of lending in its digital division remained high, with collections performance in line with management's budgeted plan.

Morses' home collected credit unit also performed in line with expectations, with customer numbers at over 143,000 at the end of the period. Total credit issued during the half was £53.1m, 17% above management's budgeted plan and 4% higher year-on-year despite tightening credit policy to further enhance the quality of its lending.

Chief executive Paul Smith said: "I am pleased by the progress the group has made over the first half of the year. We have seen strong demand for our products as the market has re-opened and with the ongoing economic recovery we expect this to continue.

"Our long-term strategy to evolve into a more complete provider of non-standard financial services products and the reduced competition in the HCC and digital sectors is likely to be to our benefit. I look forward to the future with confidence as we continue to provide our customers with products and services to support their financial needs."

As of 0930 BST, Morses shares were up 2.91% at 76.15p