Leeds-based firm CPP enjoys 'good' year as it restructures business

The Leeds-based firm saw group revenue from continuing operations increase by 10 per cent to £66.4m. It also saw earnings grow and improved its cash position. Jason Walsh, CEO of CPP, told The Yorkshire Post: “There has been obviously ongoing uncertainty in relation to Covid over the last 18 months but we have been resilient to that.

“We’ve weathered the second and third waves in the UK and also the second wave in India reasonably well.”

India is a key market for the Leeds-based firm and it has established an IT team in its Indian business to build a new customer platform.

However, CPP has been restructuring other parts of its business. It has pulled out from new business in Mexico, instead just focusing on its renewable books.

The Leeds-based firm has pulled out of Malaysia entirely and brought its Blink operation, which was in Ireland, under central management. CPP has also disposed of its German card protection legacy business for £2.4m.

The restructuring though has led to exceptional costs, without which the firm would have made a £800,000 profit.

Exceptional costs from restructuring are expected to continue into the second half of the year but not to the same extent as the first-half of the year.

Mr Walsh added: “By the end of 2021, we should have come to a place where for the foreseeable future we are exceptionals free.

“That transformation and restructuring programme that we have seen in 2021 will be behind us in effect.”

The company is relatively upbeat about a continued recovery from Covid across its markets.

Mr Walsh said: “I think that any third or fourth waves in most of the places that we operate are likely to be less impactful because of the vaccination programmes in most of the places in which we operate. It gives us a good expectation that any impact of future waves should be less than the waves that we have already seen.”

The firm announced a 5p dividend. It restarted dividends for the first time in nine years earlier this year.

“The business is committed to growing that dividend over time,” Mr Walsh said.

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