27th Mar 2020 09:23
(Alliance News) - Doorstep lender Provident Financial PLC on Friday withdrew forward guidance for 2020 and the final payout for 2019 due to uncertainty created by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Shares in the company were down 13% at 220.67 pence each in London.
The FTSE 250-listed company saw no major impact from Covid-19 on trading in the first 11 weeks of 2020, but UK government restrictions together with the company's own actions are likely to adversely impact credit issued and collections.
Provident has decided to withdraw the 16p per share final payout for 2019, which equates to GBP40 million. It plans to make future dividend decisions as and when conditions normalise.
The Bradford-based company remains "heavily" focused on managing capital and liquidity through tightening underwriting across each business, particularly Moneybarn, and maintaining tight control on costs.
Provident currently has regulatory capital headroom of GBP200 million. Committed loan facilities and surplus cash and liquid resources amount to GBP230 million.
Malcolm Le May, chief executive, said: "The impact of Covid-19 on the wider UK economy and our own financial performance clearly remains uncertain. However, the decisive actions we are taking, together with our strong capital and liquidity positions, mean that I remain confident in the group's medium-term opportunity."
By Tapan Panchal; [email protected]
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