PCF Group PLC (AIM:PCF) said it expects to publish its results for the year to 30 September 2021 in the last week of May this year.
Under AIM rules, the last date permitted for publication of results is 31 March 2022, but this is not possible for logistical reasons, the specialist bank said in a statement. For this reason, its shares will be temporarily suspended from 1 April until its full-year results are published.
The company has implemented a remediation plan after a review of its financial controls and reporting processes last year uncovered substantial errors, a potential breach of its large exposure limits with the banking regulator and an overstated capital ratio.
PCT said it expects to publish its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2022 before the end of June 2022, which will see the group return to a normal cycle of reporting results in line with AIM rules.
The company also issued a trading update, saying new business origination totalled £155mln in full-year 2021, a fall of 43% compared with the previous year, as the group managed new business volumes in a conservative and prudent manner.
New business origination was notably lower in the Business Finance Division (BFD) and Azule, where demand continued to be significantly impacted by the pandemic and the supply of finance under various government pandemic support schemes, PCF noted.
The gross loan book reduced to £379mln as at 30 September 2021 from £446mln at end-March. However, the average loan book over the 2021 financial year was broadly stable relative to 2020, the company said.
As previously announced, PCF is forecasting a pre-tax loss for the 2021 financial year due to increased costs arising from investigative and remediation activities.
The group said it has begun its drive back to normalised origination levels and has started to rebuild the overall size of its loan book.
Loan origination for the first quarter of the current year was £19mln, compared with £49mln in the same period last year.
The group said it is experiencing strong approval levels so far in the second quarter to 31 March 2022 and expects to double the first-quarter origination level.