Provident Financial FY profits jump 25%; warns on Brexit negatives

Non-standard lender Provident Financial said full year pre-tax profit jumped a hefty 25.7% to £343.9m, as it warned that any negative outcomes from Brexit could have a “significant impact on the group” this year.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 14.1% to £334.1m. Revenues were up to £1.18bn from £1.11bn.

The final dividend was lifted by 13% to 91.4p a share, making a total dividend of 134.6p a share, an increase of 12.1%.

Provident, which lends to people with poor credit histories, said the UK's decision to leave the European Union in last June's referendum “has had a significant impact on capital markets”.

“Most economists and market commentators have been predicting a period of instability in the UK economy over the near or medium term which may result in weak GDP growth and may result in increased unemployment and inflation in the UK economy,” it said.

“The emergence of such changes is unlikely to have a significant impact on the group through 2017.”

“Despite any potential second order risks of Brexit, the group has proven resilient during previous economic downturns due to the specialist business models deployed by its divisions which are tailored to serving non-standard customers.”

The company said it Vanquis Bank unit continued to deliver a strong financial performance.

“The momentum of new account bookings is excellent with a good pipeline of initiatives to further augment growth in 2017 and beyond,” the company said.