Heartland New Zealand, the lender formed from the merger of Pyne Gould's Marac Finance with the Canterbury and Southern Cross building societies, tripled annual profit as it reaped the benefit of acquiring PGG Wrightson's loan book and was aided by a tax adjustment.
Net profit climbed to $23.6 million, or 6 cents per share, in the 12 months ended June 30, from $7.1 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, the Christchurch-based lender said in a statement. Pretax earnings rose to $20.3 million from $11.6 million a year earlier, in line with Heartland's guidance of between $20 million and $22 million.
"Whilst trading conditions remain challenging given economic conditions generally, Heartland expects a continual improvement in underlying performance in the year ahead," the company said.
The lender is engaged with the Reserve Bank as it seeks a banking licence, and is looking at November as a possible date for the decision. The merger of the financiers was predicated on the new entity achieving a licence as lenders enter a new regime that imposes stricter controls on finance companies after the collapse of the sector through the latter half of the 2000s.
The board didn't declare a dividend, and will outline its dividend policy at its annual meeting in November.
