27 September 2006
Unaudited interim results for six months to 30
June 2006
Principality, Wales's largest building society, today issued
results which reflect a strong performance for the first half of
2006.
Year-on-year highlights:
- Group assets grew by 9.86%, exceeding £4.65 billion (June 2005
- £4.2 billion)
- Group profit before tax increased by 13% to £11.0 million (June
2005 - £9.7 million)
- Group mortgage balances grew to £3,742.6 million (June 2005 -
£3,396.1 million)
- Mortgage advances grew by 39% to £623.1 million (June 2005 -
£446.7 million)
- Savings up by £187 million to £3.3 billion
- Winner of Employer of the Year for Wales and the West
Country.
Commenting on the results, Peter Griffiths, Chief Executive of
Principality Building Society, said: "We have delivered a good set
of results for the first half of 2006 and are on course to hit our
targets for the year. Group assets have increased to over £4.65
billion and pre-tax profits are up by 13% to £11.0 million. The
steady housing market and a competitive range of mortgage products
have also ensured a growth in mortgage advances to £623.1 million –
an increase of 39%. Our savings book is also strong and has hit
£3.3 billion.
"Principality's subsidiaries have performed ahead of plan. Nemo
Personal Finance Ltd, a personal secured loans business, now
employs 140 staff in Cardiff and is continuing to deliver good
returns. Peter Alan estate agency broke all records with an
outstanding first half to the year and the commercial lending
division broke through the £600m lending barrier in June.
"Our newest subsidiary, Moneypilot.co.uk, launched in June. This
is an example of how we are using technology in an innovative way
to enable customers to access advice about the whole of the
mortgage market via web and phone from the comfort of their own
home or office. We are aiming to develop this proposition further
later this year to offer pensions and investment advice.
"As our subsidiaries prosper, the profit generated enables us to
build a more sustainable business and provide real member value to
our core building society customers. We continue to look for other
opportunities to invest in new businesses to offer a wider range of
products and services for our members.
"Earlier this summer we raised £120 million in capital to
support the group's growth plans over the medium term. The deal has
extended our footprint in the capital markets - a total of 24
investors participated in the transaction, of whom 20 were new to
Principality. Our credit story was well received by the London and
Edinburgh based investors – reflecting our strong Welsh franchise
and robust 2005 performance.
"The building society is continuing to widen its presence in
Wales. We are investing on the high streets of Wales and the
borders and have relocated two of our branches to more prominent
locations in Neath and Mold. We also announced a new sponsorship
deal with the Football Association of Wales in August and now
sponsor the Welsh Football Premier League. This is in addition to
our sponsorship of the rugby premiership in Wales which associates
us with a sport which is at the heart of many Welsh
communities.
"We are also developing our services, to extend beyond our
traditional branch network, via the web. We launched a bilingual
online mortgage application facility earlier in the year and we
will be building our e-commerce capability and bringing online
savings accounts to customers in early 2007.
"Our AGM in March was well attended and a record 16% of our
members voted helping us to raise £35,000 for our elected charity
of the year, Breast Cancer Care Cymru/Wales. We have also
strengthened the Board of Directors and David Williams, previously
Deputy Chairman, has been appointed Chairman of the Society."
Peter Griffiths added: "We continue to invest in the development
of our staff and are proud to have won the Employer of the Year
award for Wales and the West Country. We also received the
Bilingual Business of the Year award for our commitment to the
Welsh language. We move into the second half of the year encouraged
by the progress made by the Society. We will sustain our focus on
providing first class service to our customers and maintaining our
position as the leading Welsh provider of mortgages and
savings."
The half year results are prepared under International Financial
Reporting Standards, effective from 1 January 2005.
Ends
View for full interim
financial results (pdf, 37kb).
Picture caption:
Peter Griffiths, chief
executive of Principality Building Society.
Click on the image to open a hi-res picture in a new web
browser.
Our Notes to Editors
contains key information about the Society.
If you're interested in finding out more or you
would like to speak to our press office, please contact our Corporate Communications Team.