Provident Financial delivers rise in full year profits

Profit before tax and exceptional credit rose 11.7 per cent to £181.1m in the year ended December 31 2012. Customer numbers rose by 8.7 per cent to 2.74m.

Provident said it had a “very robust group funding and liquidity position”.

Peter Crook, the chief executive of Provident Financial, said: “I am very pleased to announce adjusted earnings per share growth of 13.8 per cent in 2012 and an 11.9 per cent increase in the dividend for the year which is fully supported by strong capital generation.

“We have now delivered cumulative earnings per share growth of 42.9 per cent over the last three years. Our performance is underpinned by the strength of our funding position and lending responsibly through very close attention to credit quality.”