Provident Financial plc (‘the Group’ or ‘PFG’) is the leading provider of credit products to consumers who are underserved by mainstream lenders. The Group today publishes its results for the twelve months to the end of December 2020, unless otherwise stated.
Key Financial Results
|
|
2020 £m |
20191 £m |
|
Adjusted profit before tax |
||
|
Vanquis Bank |
38.0 | 173.5 |
|
Moneybarn
|
10.9 | 21.1 |
|
CCD |
(74.9) | (20.8) |
|
Central Costs |
(21.1) | (21.0) |
|
Adjusted (loss)/profit before tax2 |
(47.1) | 152.8 |
|
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles |
(7.5) | (7.5) |
| Exceptional costs | (58.9) | (26.3) |
| (Loss)/profit before tax | (113.5) | 119.0 |
| Adjusted basic EPS2 | (11.0) | 44.1 |
| Basic EPS | (32.9) | 30.1 |
| Adjusted RORE3 | (5.2%) | 20.0% |
Malcolm Le May, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“2020 will be remembered as a tremendously difficult year for many people, including our customers. However, I and my executive management team are extremely proud of how everyone across PFG adapted quickly to the challenges brought by Covid-19. Importantly, our customers continued to receive the vital support they needed, despite lockdown restrictions. Whilst the Group is reporting an adjusted loss before tax of £47.1m for 2020, I am pleased to say that Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn remained profitable for 2020 as a whole and have started 2021 positively.
We notified the market in March 2021 of our intention to launch a Scheme of Arrangement for CCD. I am pleased to report that the Court has granted the opportunity for the Scheme creditors to meet and assess the Scheme on its own merits. We firmly believe that the Scheme is the fairest compromise we can offer for CCD customers, past and present.
In light of the changing industry and regulatory dynamics in the home credit sector, as well as shifting customer preferences, it is with deepest regret that we have decided to withdraw from the home credit market and we intend to either place the business into managed run-off or consider a disposal. It is anticipated that the cost to the Group of a managed run-off or a sale would be broadly similar. As a result, PFG will no longer offer any ‘high-cost’ products and we will not be issuing any high-cost or home collected credit products from any CCD entity in future. We intend to build upon our existing unsecured personal loan product expertise during the course of 2021, in the ‘mid-cost’ segment of the market, an ambition that stretches back to our Capital Markets Day in 2019. The unsecured loan offering is an important step towards our plans of becoming a broader banking group to the financially underserved customer.
Our credit card and vehicle finance businesses saw improving trends during the first quarter of 2021, with credit card spend improving and the demand for vehicle finance increasing month on month. These positive trends, supported by the Group’s strong balance sheet, mean that we feel confident about how we are positioned in our markets.”
Highlights
Effective Covid-19 business adaptations embedded; strong capital & liquidity positions maintained
• The swift and effective action taken by management in Q1’20 ensured that operationally the Group was well-placed to face the challenges of Covid-19 throughout 2020 and beyond.
• Group statutory loss before tax of £113.5m (FY’19 PBT: £119.0m) reflects a significant decline in receivables as a result of Covid-19.
• Group adjusted loss before tax of £47.1m (FY’19 PBT: £152.8m) excludes exceptional items relating to the Senior bond tender, the ROP release at Vanquis Bank and redundancy costs within the home credit business and Scheme of Arrangement costs.
• At the end of December, the Group’s capital and liquidity positions remained robust with regulatory capital of £675m (FY’19: £710m), equating to a CET1 ratio of 34.2% (FY’19: 31.6%) and a surplus of approximately £264m above the minimum regulatory requirement (FY’19: £140m). Total Group liquidity at the end of December was £1.0bn, including c.£0.8bn held by Vanquis Bank.
• The Board is not proposing a dividend for 2020, in keeping with its objective of preserving capital and supporting business stability whilst macroeconomic uncertainty remains. However, as previously stated, it remains the Group’s aim to resume dividend payments to shareholders as soon as operational and financial conditions normalise.
• After the period end, the Group launched a Scheme of Arrangement in order to address the issue of rising customer complaint volumes within CCD. The Group has committed £50m to fund legitimate claims under the Scheme and will cover further Scheme related administrative costs of approximately £15m. The Scheme was granted leave by the Court on 22 April 2021 to convene a meeting of its creditors, which is scheduled to take place on 19 July 2021. The proposed Scheme is considered by the PFG Board to be the fairest compromise that can be offered for CCD customers and if the Scheme is not sanctioned, it is likely that CCD will be placed into administration or liquidation. If this were to happen, CCD customers would not be expected to receive any redress payment.
• As a result of the operational review concluding, and in response to evolving market and customer dynamics, the Group has decided to withdraw from the home credit market entirely. The Group intends to either place the business into a managed run-off or consider a disposal. It is anticipated that the cost to the Group of placing it into managed run-off or disposing of CCD will be up to c.£100m. CCD has also begun a collective consultation process for c.2,100 colleagues regarding its plans to withdraw from the home credit market.
• The Group will adopt a product-centric view of its portfolio going forward, i.e. credit cards, vehicle finance and unsecured personal loans and will focus on the sub- and near-prime segments of these markets.