The International Personal Finance Board has considered the Group's trading performance in the first half of the year, the outlook for the full year and the strength of the balance sheet, and is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 2.2 pence per share. The interim dividend will be paid on 1 October 2021 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 3 September 2021. The shares will be marked ex-dividend on 2 September 2021. The deadline to elect for the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) is 10 September 2021. As at the date of this report, 223,196,486 ordinary shares are authorised to receive the dividend with a total dividend payment of £4,910,322.69.
Other financial highlights:
Ø Significantly improved financial performance and dividend restored
o Group profit before tax of £43.3 million and all divisions profitable (H1 2020: Loss of £53.3m)
Ø Robust trading performance
o Successful strategy of selectively relaxing credit settings delivered 25% increase in credit issued year on year, with Q2 15% ahead of Q1
o Closing receivables increased by 5% (at CER) since the 2020 year end
o Significant improvement in impairment as a percentage of revenue to 13.7% (FY 2020: 37.4%) enabled by continued strong collections performance
o Cost saving benefits from 2020 rightsizing programme delivered - Other costs £13.4 million lower year on year
Ø Strong funding position and well capitalised balance sheet
o Equity to receivables ratio 53.8% at 30 June 2021
o Bond and bank facilities total £596 million to support future growth
o Undrawn facilities and non-operational cash balances of £173 million
