KEY POINTS:
Property lender Lombard Finance & Investments has announced a 33 per cent rise in interim profit.
The company, part of the Lombard Group, posted a $4.64 million profit before tax for the period to September, compared to $3.48 million last year.
Last week parent company Lombard Group announced a six-month loss of $3.5 million, due to a writedown of goodwill.
Lombard Finance said the result was satisfying given the difficult trading conditions which have seen 13 finance firms fail or go into default on repayments in less than two years.
Total equity rose by 50 per cent to $28.26 million. Chairman Sir Douglas Graham said the benefits of having a listed parent company were coming to the fore, as transparency and good governance were essential in the current market.
The business also had no related party lending, no offshore lending, good liquidity management and an experienced management team.
He said the company was trying to maintain prudent liquidity in case good opportunities arose from the diminishing number of lenders and a consequent pent-up demand for development capital.
- NZPA