Provident Financial pre-tax profit up 34.5%, increases dividend

28th Jul 2015 08:49

(ShareCast News) - Financial services firm Provident Financial reported a rise in first half adjusted profit before tax of 34.5% and increased its interim dividend.The FSTE 250 firm's pre-tax first half profits were £126.6m, compared with £94.1m in the period last year.As a result the board boosts interim dividend per share up 15% from 39.2p to 34.1p. The company's adjusted earnings per share was up 29.9% to 70.4p from 54.2p in 2014.In its half yearly report the company highlighted its non-standard credit card market offerings through Vanquis Bank, which delivered first half UK profit growth of 29.6%.The company's Consumer Credit Division, comprising Provident, Satsuma and glo, and Moneybarn delivered a 2.7% increase in pre-tax first half profit to £38m."This result is after stepping up the investment in the Satsuma online instalment lending business which is developing rapidly and represents a substantial market opportunity," Provident Financial said in a statement.