Eastern Europe-focused doorstep lender International Personal Finance (IPF) delivered more solid progress during 2013. Pre-tax profit rose 24 per cent to £118m, customer numbers rose nearly 7 per cent to 2.58m and credit quality improved modestly. The core Polish business, responsible for 53 per cent of earnings, saw profit rise 13 per cent to £62.3m, with similarly solid progress made in the other main East European markets. The Mexican unit, meanwhile, was the star performer - pre-tax profit there jumped 58 per cent to £14.5m.
But regulatory concerns have weighed on the shares in recent months - they slipped heavily in December after Polish regulators imposed a fine over the way the group's APR rate was calculated. There are also ongoing worries that interest rate caps could be introduced in some core markets. But such fears look overdone as any final legislation here is both distant and likely to face significant revision before being introduced.
