International Personal Finance has recorded a significantly improved financial performance

International Personal Finance, provides unsecured consumer credit to 1.7 million customers across 11 markets. It operates the world's largest home credit business and a fintech operator, IPF Digital .

In the half year ended 30 June 2021, International Personal Finance achieved group profit before tax of £43.3 million and all its divisions were profitable.

International Personal Finance said it had made very good progress towards rebuilding the business and serving customers safely.

Gerard Ryan, chief executive officer at IPF, said: "Our business plays a very important role in society by providing credit responsibly to those who are underbanked or underserved and, against a challenging backdrop of frequently changing lockdown restrictions, our teams have worked hard to serve our customers safely and rebuild our business.

"I am very pleased to report a significantly improved financial performance, with the group delivering £43.3 million profit in the first half of the year.

"Demand for credit is beginning to recover in our segment and we are well positioned to meet the significant longer-term demand for affordable credit from the consumers we serve and deliver long-term value to our stakeholders. Based on our rapid and sustainable return to profitability and the undoubted strength of our balance sheet, the board has recommended a resumption of dividend payments to shareholders."