UPDATE: Provident Financial 1H Pretax Pft +1.7% On Customer Base

27th Jul 2010 07:49

(Adds detail.) By Patricia Kowsmann Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. lender Provident Financial PLC (PFG.LN) said Tuesday that its first-half of 2010 pretax profit rose 1.7% on a growing customer base. Pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 rose to GBP54 million from GBP53.1 million, the provider of home credit in the U.K. and Ireland said in a statement. The lender said customer numbers grew 7.3% to 2.3 million in the period, while average receivables rose 3.7% to GBP1.03 billion. "Whilst home credit customers remain cautious, I am encouraged by the growth in customer numbers of over 5% which will underpin the medium-term growth of the business when market conditions improve," Chief Executive Officer Peter Crook said. "The group's balance sheet and liquidity are strong and our plans to deliver good quality growth in 2010 remain on track," he added. Provident, which operates consumer credit business and Vanquis Bank, declared an interim dividend of 25.4 pence a share, unchanged from the previous year. On its consumer credit division, it said pretax profit fell 5.2% to GBP49.3 million due to higher funding costs. Revenue, however, rose to GBP365.3 million from GBP339.9 million. It said credit quality of its book remains good. Meanwhile, pretax profit at its Vanquis Bank rose 82% to GBP9.1 million on revenue of GBP74.7 million, up from GBP60.1 million a year earlier. "Vanquis Bank is making excellent progress whilst maintaining a cautious approach to granting new credit," Crook said, adding the bank is expected to achieve a target of a return-on-equity run rate after tax of 30% by the end of the year. The lender, however, warned that the home credit market remains under pressure on continued weak employment conditions, which is unlikely to change for the rest of the year. -By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel +44(0)207-842-9295, [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)