IPF reports FY pretax profit as customer demand increases

Home credit business International Personal Finance said on Wednesday that it had rebounded to full-year pre-tax profit in 2021 as customer demand continued to increase following the second quarter of the year.

IPF swung to a £67.7m pre-tax profit from a pre-tax loss of £40.7m a year earlier, despite revenues falling 15% to £548.7m, as it issued 32.8% more credit year-on-year and all its business divisions remained profitable.

The London-listed firm also stated it saw a steady increase in levels of customer demand for credit from the second quarter, driven by the easing of freedom of movement rules in most markets, the opening up of retail and hospitality sectors and the progression of Government vaccination programmes.

IPF posted an EPS of 18.8p and declared a full-year dividend of 8.0p as its digital division delivered a record pre-tax profit of £8.7m - a marked year-on-year improvement of £27.9m.

Chief executive Gerard Ryan said: “We are firmly in growth mode and our customers are benefiting from new products and improved customer journeys.

"Looking ahead, we intend to meet increasing customer demand and accelerate customer receivables growth by further investing in our technology, and product and channel development so consumers can access our credit offerings in a way that suits them, whether that be through our customer representative service or digitally."

As of 0925 GMT, IPF shares were up 8.66% at 133.0p.