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International Personal Finance plc (LSE:IPF), may not make a lot of headlines, so that may “leed” some snootier investors to ignore the company based in Leeds. Interestingly enough, IPF is one of the “leeders” on the London Stock Exchange today. Its share price is the ninth “leeding” gainer by percentage and the seventh “leeding” by actual gain.
That’s enough of the puns for now.
IPF’s share price rose today by 12.39%, or 70.0 pence, to 635.00 upon the publication of its half year report. Consider that on this date, 30 July 2012, the company’s share price closed at 288.00. It’s even more impressive when one realizes that on 02 July 2009 the stock was selling at 72.00. IPF has risen steadily through the entire past four years and has climbed over 100.00 points in the last month alone.
From its headquarters in Leeds, IPF offers “small sum, short-term, unsecured cash loans” to more than 2.4 million customers in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, and Mexico. Over 28,000 agents and 6,300 employees work together to provide “simple financial products and services to people of modest means.” The company is preparing to begin operations in Bulgaria in September.
Perhaps most important to investors, this morning’s report disclosed that the company had returned a record first half, pre-tax profit of £42.3 million. That is a 35% increase over 1H2012. The total amount of credit issued for the period was up 14% from December 2012. Unlike most reports of this type and for most companies of any type, IPF performance improved in all of its markets. The company’s performance in Mexico was exceptional, where pre-tax profit actually doubled to come in at £5 million. Performance in Mexico should continue to be strong as IPF expands its operations into Mexico City, exposing an additional population of 20 million potential customers to its services in the final half of 2013.
Gerard Ryan, CEO, observed that “Our strategy is delivering stronger growth and has resulted in a record first half profit. Our expansion plans are on track and we have made good progress on new product development which is helping to strengthen our customer relationships.” In addition, he said that “One year since the launch of our strategy, we are delivering good growth and higher underlying profit in all our markets. Our plans to expand our geographic footprint are on track and we have made good progress on new product development, improving systems and implementing reward strategies throughout the business to accelerate growth further in 2013.”
The company’s geographic footprint expansion is complemented by its broadening offering of services in various markets. These include offering high-value loans, preferential pricing for repeat customers, and a pilot program to sell home insurance. The strategic plan to expand the growth of the company through a variety of channels may be necessary, as similar companies, including those offering pay-day loans, are following IPF into its lucrative markets, seeking to take a bite out of its market share.
For the near future, at least, IPF has the strategic plan and the wherewithal to remain far in front of the pack.
