S&U PLC (LSE:SUS), the specialist motor finance and property bridging lender, delivered the highest earnings per share in the company’s 84-year history last year.
Earnings per share in the year to the end of January 2022 soared to 312.8p from 120.7p the year before as profit before tax recovered to £47.0mln from £18.1mln. Trading levels returned to something approaching normal levels as disruption from the pandemic lessened.
Revenue increased by 5% to £87.9mln from £83.8mln the previous year while total collections rose to £294.3mln from £214.3mln.
Most of the big numbers were revealed in the company’s mid-February update, but the company revealed today it is proposing to pay a final dividend of 57p, up from 43p, taking the full-year dividend up to 126p (2021: 90p).
The group’s net assets rose to £206.7mln from £181.0mln the year before while group gearing edged up to 54.9% from 54.6%.
The current trends in both of its businesses remain very encouraging with current new loans this financial year already beating budget, S&U revealed.
In anticipation of accelerating growth, S&U put in place an additional £50mln of medium-term facilities last year; these facilities now total £180mln on borrowings of £113.6mln and may be augmented within the next financial year as further growth occurs, and the macroeconomic landscape becomes clearer.
The Advantage Finance car purchase financing business, which suffered its first-ever year-on-year dip in profits in 2021, produced a “stunning” comeback performance, with profits soaring to £43.7mln from £17.2mln the year before.
With an eye to the future, Advantage has this year increased its financing of electric cars. Although electric vehicles currently only comprise about 3.5% of the UK car market, demand is growing strongly.
S&U has set up a working group to track the development of this market and the company expects to be able to introduce more of its customers to it over the next few years.
Aspen Bridging, the property bridging business set up in 2017, produced record results with profit before tax of £3.4mln, up from £0.8mln the year before, while year-end net receivables have grown to £63.9mln (2021: £34.1mln).
"As the world reels from one crisis to another, it is apt to remember the words of Winston Churchill, our greatest war leader: ‘I'm an optimist - it does not seem too much use to be anything else’," said Anthony Coombs, the chair of S&U.
“Like all successful businesses with a long history, S&U recognises that it must tailor its products and services and trim its operational tack to its economic, political and regulatory environment, over which it may have little control but to which it can nevertheless adapt and therefore thrive. Whilst this year's resounding results clearly show our, and most importantly our loyal people's, ability to do this, their work in preparing and priming the group for both the opportunities and challenges now facing all of us, gives me a quiet but determined confidence in S&U's future," he added.
Shares in S&U were up 0.4% at 2,440p in early deals.