Non-Stanard Financial warns on profits; ups provisioning for bad loans

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Subprime lender Non-Stanard Finance warned its annual operating profit would be lower than expected amid a deterioration in the UK's economic outlook.

The company said trading in the three months of September had been softer than expected, with solid performances by branch-based lending and home credit offset by lower volumes in guarantor loans.

At the guarantor loans business, Non-Standard Finance said it would accelerate a planned consolidation into a single location in Trowbridge, incurring an exceptional charge of around £0.2m.

The company had also decided to increase the probability weighting of a stressed, or downside scenario, which would impact provisioning for its loan books.

The rise in provisioning , combined with the weaker trading performance, meant normalised operating profit for the full year was now expected to be between 10-13% lower than current consensus of analyst forecasts, although still well ahead of 2018.

Non-Standard Finance also lowered its medium-term loan book growth targets, while upping its impairment expectations for the medium term.

At 9:35am: (LON:NSF) Nonstandard Finance Plc share price was -4.3p at 28.35p