LONDON (Alliance News) - Private & Commercial Finance Group PLC's new business originations have increased, driven by its consumer finance division, Chief Executive Scott Maybury will tell shareholders at the company's annual general meeting Friday.
"The board is pleased to report that ... portfolio growth, portfolio quality and the group's profitability have all continued to improve. Ahead of the company's half year to September 30, the board is pleased to report that trading is in line with market expectations," Maybury will say.
The AIM-listed finance house said new business originations for the five months to August were GBP23.5 million, compared with GBP22.5 million in the corresponding period last year, which called "consistent" with internal targets.
In a statement released ahead of AGM, scheduled for 1030 BST, Private & Commercial said new business growth is most robust in consumer finance, reflecting the strength of the UK car market.
The CEO said the loan loss provisioning charge has continued to reduce, falling to its current level of 2.0% from 2.4% at the end of March.
Overall, the finance house said its portfolio has grown 5% to GBP93.2 million since March 31 and is performing in line with management expectations of meeting a 2% return on assets target by the end of the current financial year.
The group is also continuing work in its banking licence application and intends to present its business plan to authorities in the near future.
"Our performance in the financial year to date and the growth in our portfolio of receivables means we can view the remainder of the current financial year with confidence," Maybury will tell shareholders.
Private & Commercial Finance shares were Friday quoted down 3.0% at 13.83 pence per share.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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