1 December 2015 – interim results/board appointment
The AIM quoted finance house has announced very impressive interim results for the six months to 30 September, with adjusted pre-tax profits increasing by 80% to £1.53m (2014: £0.85m). This was after incurring £67,000 of costs relating to its banking licence application. Fully-diluted earnings per share increased by 50% to 0.9p (2014: 0.6p). The first half saw a 13% increase in new business volumes to £32.1m (2014: £28.3m) with the total loan portfolio increasing by 15% to £108m (2014: £94m). An improvement in the quality of the loan portfolio has led to a record low level of impairments and with committed debt facilities of £120m (2014: £98m) the group has headroom of £32m (2014: £12m) to fund future growth. The second half has started well and full year results seem likely to exceed market expectations.
In a separate announcement the company has also announced the appointment of two new non-executive directors with significant experience in the finance industry. These are expected to bring considerable benefits to the group. Although the shares have moved up steadily we believe that there is further to go and they remain a BUY.