Provident Financial '˜set to meet market expectations'

The company has published an update on trading for the financial year 2016, ahead of its preliminary results for the year which will be announced on February 28.

In a statement, Provident Financial said: “Vanquis Bank delivered fourth quarter new account bookings ahead of the prior year as it continued to develop the distribution of its expanded credit card proposition.

“Total new account bookings for 2016 were 406,000 with momentum continuing to build during the fourth quarter as a result of a range of new initiatives put in place during the year. Customer numbers ended the year at 1,545,000, representing year-on-year growth of 9 per cent. The growth in customer numbers and credit line increases to established customers combined to produce receivables growth for the year of approximately 14 per cent.”

In the consumer credit division, demand and customer confidence in the home credit business through the seasonal peak were robust and were coupled with good credit quality, the company said.

Commenting on the final quarter of the year, Peter Crook, the chief executive, said: “I am pleased to report that each of our businesses continued to trade well through the final quarter of the year and the group is expected to report 2016 results in line with market expectations.”