(Alliance News) - Provident Financial PLC on Thursday trading in the fourth quarter of 2021 was ahead of expectations and announced the restructuring of Vanquis Bank's board.
The Bradford, England-based lender said the strong trading in the three months to December 31 was driven by favourable macroeconomic conditions and demand for credit from customers.
In Provident's credit card business, Provident said customer credit card spend for the quarter was in-line with pre-pandemic levels, although it noted that spend levels were hurt by the spread of Omicron through December and early January. The company added, however, that this reduction was in line with the wider market.
In its vehicle finance business, Provident reported good year-on-year growth in its customer numbers, adding that its customer feedback scores remained positive and the pricing of used vehicles were at all-time highs.
During the fourth quarter, Provident said it had launched the pilot of its new personal loans offering, Sunflower Loans, and said that its Vanquis Bank open market loans pilot had started encouragingly, demonstrating strong demand for a loans product in its target customer demographic.
As a result of improved trading conditions in the second half, Provident said it anticipates being able to release approximately GBP20 million of Covid-19 macroeconomic-related provisions as it reappraises its coverage ratios.
Provident said that it intends to declare a dividend of 30% of adjusted ongoing earning in respect of 2021.
Provident also announced it has restructured the board of Vanquis Bank, its subsidiary bank, to align its membership with its own board. As part of the new structure, Patrick Snowball, Malcolm Le May and Neeraj Kapur, the chair, chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Provident, respectively, have been appointed to the board of Vanquis Bank. Also joining the Vanquis board is Andrea Blance, the senior independent director Provident, as well as Provident non-executive directors Angela Knight, Paul Hewitt, Graham Lindsay, and Margot James.
Provident said it expect to publish its 2021 results in early April.
Shares in Provident were up 3.3% at 362.80 pence on Thursday in London.
By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com
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