Lender IPF enjoys 40pc leap in profits and unveils plan to buy back £50m of its shares

The Leeds-based lender also announced plans to buy back £50m of its shares.

IPF lends to 2.6 million borrowers across eastern Europe and Mexico. Loans are normally between £200 and £500 for periods of six to 12 months.

The group reported strong demand for its longer term loans in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Earlier this year it launched a 100-week loan in Hungary and rolled out loans of 78 weeks in Romania.

Chief executive Gerard Ryan said: “Customer numbers are up seven per cent – it was three per cent this time last year. There is appetite in the market and we have more agents.

“Agents are staying longer with us and the longer they stay the better they perform.

“The economy is picking up and the indicators on the ground feel good.”

The group said pre-tax profits rose from £9.1m to £12.7m in the first quarter on the back of a 10 per cent rise in revenue to £195m.

Credit issued in Poland and Lithuania, which make up IPF’s biggest market, rose 10 per cent in the quarter and profits rose over 50 per cent to £7.8m.

Profit from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the company’s second-biggest market, rose four per cent to £5m.

The company has relaxed its credit rules in Mexico, leading to an 11 per cent increase in customer numbers to 745,000.

Earlier this month IPF completed a refinancing that will halve the cost of its core Eurobond borrowings.

The lender said the new £250m seven-year Eurobond issue will materially reduce its debt costs. The new bond halved its Eurobond interest rate to 5.75 per cent.