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Paragon Banking Group PLC on Wednesday said it expects to see an increase in lending activity during the second half of the financial year. The Solihull, England-based mortgage and loan provider said in the first half ended March 31, pretax profit more than doubled to £110.6 million from £46.4 million the year prior. Total operating income increased 12% to £246.6 million from £220.2 million. Performance was driven by good loan growth, improved margins, tight cost control as well as lower fair value reversals. Paragon raised its interim dividend 20% to 13.20 pence per share from 11.00p. Chief Executive Nigel Terrington said: ‘There has been a strong recovery in customer demand with new business pipelines materially above the levels seen at the year-end, improving the outlook for lending volumes for the rest of this year. The deposit book saw continued strong growth to £14.8 billion, up 24%, outperforming the market.’ Paragon upgraded full year guidance with mortgage lending advances expected to be between £1.4 billion to £1.6 billion, compared with £1.88 billion reported last year. Commercial lending advances are now forecasted at £1.1 billion to £1.2 billion, similar to last year’s £1.13 billion. Paragon Banking shares were up 2.8% to 791.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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