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(Alliance News) - International Personal Finance PLC on Wednesday reported a slight dip in first half profit due to its Mexican business struggling in challenging conditions.
In the six months to June 30, the home and digital credit provider said pretax profit declined slightly to GBP56.1 million from GBP56.5 million a year before.
The company's revenue increased 6.7% in the half-year to GBP446.9 million from GBP418.9 million the year before.
International Personal Finance's customers slipped 2.2% to 2,197, but issued credit grew by 6.3% to GBP672.3 million.
The credit provider's cost-to-income ratio improved to 43.9% from 45.7% the year before.
"We delivered a good financial performance in the first half of the year with credit issued growth. Operational execution by our teams in European home credit was excellent, delivering a strong performance," said Chief Executive Gerard Ryan.
Ryan continued: "Clearly we were very disappointed by the changes to draft proposals to reduce non-interest charges in Poland, which we are monitoring closely and working on potential responses should they be enacted."
At the end of June, the Polish government further amended draft proposals to reduce an existing cap on non-interest costs charged by lenders for consumer loans.
The company said the latest modified draft proposal calls for a flat level cap of 10% of the loan value, from currently sitting at 25%. It also seeks to reduce the additional cap per year to 10% from 30% currently.
International Personal Finance's interim profit from its European Home Credit business was flat at GBP60.2 million, while the Mexico Home Credit business saw profit halve to GBP3.5 million.
"We are clear on the need to improve performance in Mexico, and as previously announced, have changed the leadership and focused on execution to allow us to benefit from the significant growth opportunities that this market continues to present," said Ryan.
IPF added the Mexican business suffered from a "challenging macroeconomic landscape and weaker than expected collections".
IPF Digital, the company's digital loan provider, narrowed its loss in the first half to GBP400,000 from GBP3.7 million the year before.
Ryan said: "IPF Digital continued to deliver strong growth and is on course to deliver its maiden profit this year."
The company left its interim dividend unchanged at 4.6 pence.
Ryan added: "We expect to deliver a full-year result for the group in line with market consensus, with a stronger than originally expected performance in European home credit being offset by a weaker outturn in Mexico."
Shares in International Personal Finance were down 2.8% in London on Wednesday at 105.80 pence each.
