TOP NEWS: OneSavings Expects Further Lending Growth After Strong 2017

15th Mar 2018 16:29

LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed specialist lender OneSavings Bank PLC said on Thursday it expects to achieve mid-teens loan growth in 2018, following a rise in profit and lending in 2017.

OneSavings reported pretax profit of GBP167.7 million, up from GBP163.1 million in 2016. On an underlying basis, this was an increase from GBP138.2 million in 2016, excluding the GBP23.9 million exceptional gain partly from the disposal of the banks entire interest in Rochester 1.

Net interest income rose to GBP245.6 million from GBP206.6 million in 2016, and OneSavings' net interest margin, its key measure of profit made on lending versus deposit costs remained stable at 3.16%.

OneSavings said its lending also rose in the year with gross originations up 14% to GBP2.6 billion from GBP2.3 billion, through a strong performance in its core but-to-let lending segment.

Net loans and advances grew by 23% in the year to GBP7.3 billion from GBP5.94 billion, and OneSavings said there was loan book growth of 23%.

OneSavings declared a final dividend of 9.3 pence per share, bringing the total payout for 2017 to 12.8p, up from 10.5p in 2016.

The lender's return on equity dipped slightly to 28% from 29%. Its Common Equity Tier One ratio stood at 13.7% at the end of the year, improved from 13.3% a year befroe.

OneSavings said it expects its loan book growth for 2018 to be in the mid-teens and its net interest margin to remain at around 3%, reflecting the current asset pricing and an expected rising in the cost of funds.

"Despite market sentiment linked to political and economic uncertainty going forward, we entered 2018 with a strong pipeline of new business in our core markets and intend to deploy our proven credit risk and operational competencies to expand our residential and commercial product offerings in 2018," said Chief Executive Officer Andy Golding.

Shares in OneSavings Bank were down 6.4% at 380.00 pence near the close on Thursday.

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