Morses Club PLC (LON:MCL), an established provider of non-standard financial services, has provided the following update on trading for the 26-week period ending 28 August 2021.
Trading
Morses Club performed strongly during the period and has traded in line with market expectations. The Group’s offering has continued to evolve over the first half of the year to meet changing customer needs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Company’s strategy to become a more complete provider of non-standard financial products and services continues apace.
Digital
In the Digital lending division, customer numbers for both short-term and long-term lending have increased and stood at over 46,000 at the end of the period, an increase of 100% since the end of FY21. The gross loan book was £35.7m, an increase of 194% against the year-end. Against the same period for 2021, credit issued has increased by 271%, from £9.1m (H1 FY21) to £24.7m (H1 FY22). The quality of the lending in the digital division remains high, with collections performance in line with management’s budgeted plan. As previously reported, the Group expects the impairment range for Digital to increase during the period, due to the IFRS9 requirement to take forward-looking provisions at the outset of the loan period.
Home Collected Credit
The Home Collected Credit division performed in line with expectations, with customer numbers at over 143,000 at the end of the period. Morses Club continues to focus on the quality of its lending. Total credit issued during H1 FY22 was £53.1m, 17% above management’s budgeted plan and 4% higher than the equivalent period in H1 FY21 (£51.2m), despite tightening credit policy to further enhance the quality of our lending. The gross loan book was £95.8m (FY21 £80.5m). The Group continues to adapt to a structurally changing HCC sector where, despite the removal of Government restrictions, the Group’s digital HCC offering remains very popular; 65% of all lending is now cashless, while 86% of payments are cashless. Over 75% of customers are signed up for the customer portal. Cash collection performance in the HCC division has remained consistent and is ahead of management’s budgeted plan. Impairment for the first half of the year is expected to be within the Company’s guidance range. Customer satisfaction remains high at 98% for the HCC division.
Notice of Interim Results
Morses Club will be announcing its interim results for the 26-week period ending 28 August 2021 on Thursday 7 October 2021.
Paul Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Morses Club, said:
“I am pleased by the progress the Group has made over the first half of the year. We have seen strong demand for our products as the market has re-opened and with the ongoing economic recovery we expect this to continue.
“Our long-term strategy to evolve into a more complete provider of non-standard financial services products and the reduced competition in the HCC and Digital sectors is likely to be to our benefit. I look forward to the future with confidence as we continue to provide our customers with products and services to support their financial needs.”
