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(Alliance News) - Paragon Banking Group PLC on Tuesday said it entered a challenging financial 2023 with strong margins, as it increased its payout amid a profit surge in the recently completed year.
For the financial year that ended on September 30, the Solihull, England-based lender and savings bank said pretax profit nearly doubled to GBP417.9 million from GBP213.7 million the year before. Interest receivable increased 23% to GBP545.7 million from GBP443.5 million, while net interest income climbed 20% to GBP371.2 million from GBP310.5 million.
The bank raised its total dividend by 9.6% to 28.6 pence per share, up from 26.1p.
Looking ahead, Paragon noted the current volatile operating environment and the cost of living increases, while hailing the "swift" reaction capabilities of its business in the face of a changing environment.
"Our digitalisation process is expected to deliver further efficiencies and improvements for our customers and supporting intermediaries, and together with our agile and dedicated people, the group is well placed to respond to the challenges in the year ahead. The strength of our business ensures we are well positioned to react positively to the opportunities which will inevitably emerge," it said.
"We enter 2023 with strong margins, high-quality loan books, robust pipelines, strong capital, cautious provisioning and well-developed franchises in each of our operating divisions," the bank said.
Paragon Banking shares rose 1.9% to 473.40 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter
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