A decade of growth for Hitachi Capital UK
– One of UK’s leading financial services companies reports profit before tax of £123.1m for FY18/19
– 5.8% growth in profits compared to FY17/18 – the tenth year of successive growth
– £4bn of new business secured in previous 12 months across five business units
– Net earning assets of £5.6bn – 16% increase on last year
– Launch of Netherlands subsidiary bolsters European expansion
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC has announced record financial results and growth for the tenth consecutive year. Over the past decade, the company has achieved a compounded annual growth rate of 22%, demonstrating the continued success of its investment in excellent customer experience.
Expansion in Europe, coupled with strong UK performance, has contributed to profit before tax (PBT) of £123.1m in FY18/19, up 5.8% from the previous financial year. The figure is 44% higher than the average PBT for FTSE 250 companies of £85.6m and the second straight year that Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC has outperformed many of the UK’s largest and best performing publicly listed companies.
For the first time, Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC ended the year with net earning assets of more than £5bn (£5.6bn a 16% rise from the £4.8bn reported in FY17/18.)
Robert Gordon, CEO of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, commented: “These outstanding results are the culmination of 10 years of sustainable growth, where Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC has consistently outperformed the average growth of many of the leading companies in the UK.
“Despite the challenging financial climate of the last year, we’ve continued to grow both profits and new business in our core UK market, while also expanding our footprint in Europe. We now operate in 17 countries, writing over £300m of new business outside of the UK.
“In a hugely competitive marketplace, we continue to invest in new technology, creating customer-facing platforms that make it easier and faster to do business. Our new Invoice Finance platform FLi is a great example, as we now on-board customers in 24 hours. This far outstrips the industry average, which is great for SMEs. I am confident that focusing on innovative solutions such as this, delivering real value for our customers, will see us continue to lead the industry and enhance our reputation further across all of our business divisions.”
A number of significant contract wins, including a major contract renewed with Centrica, means that Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC generated £4.0bn of new business in FY18/19, 14% more than the £3.5bn reported 12 months ago. In addition, the company started FY19/20 strongly with the recent announcement of a £136m contract to manage Network Rail’s owned and leased road vehicle fleet.
Business unit performance – Growth in the UK and across Europe
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC’s strong reputation has resulted in growth across the group’s business units – Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Hitachi Capital European Vendor Solutions, Hitachi Capital Business Finance and Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance.
Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance, the business unit, which provides retail point of sale, motor finance and personal loans, lent more than £2.47bn to 640,000 customers. Hitachi Personal Finance’s strong customer proposition means that personal loans lending grew by 8.8% to £876m.
In FY18/19, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, which provides vehicle funding and fleet management services, achieved the second largest market share increase amongst the top 10 leasing companies and now operates more than 68,200 assets totalling £822m. Over the last 12 months, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions has also invested substantially in technology that will improve customer experience across mobile asset and employee benefit management.
In June 2018, Hitachi Capital Business Finance, a business asset finance provider, strengthened its business offering with the acquisition of specialist finance provider Franchise Finance Ltd. Hitachi Capital Business Finance increased activity in FY 18/19, with its total asset portfolio up 23% to £1.3bn.
In April 2019, Hitachi Capital European Vendor Solutions was established as a full subsidiary of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, as part of the Group’s strategy to expand European operations alongside growth in UK activity. It was a markedly successful year for the Amsterdam-headquartered business unit, which opened a branch office in Dublin, and reported a business volume figure of £287m.
Against the backdrop of a static invoice finance market, Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance has achieved a strong 17% growth in its client base. This has been primarily via the launch of FLi, the digital on-boarding platform that provides the capability for client funding approvals within 24 hours, significantly quicker than competitors’ 40-day turnaround.
A trusted brand, giving back to our communities
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC has built on its core values – harmony, sincerity and pioneering spirit – to establish itself as one of the UK’s most trusted financial services providers. It currently holds a net promoter score (NPS) of 75, more than many high street banks, lenders and major household retailers.
In the last 12 months, the company has placed emphasis on its role as a positive force on society, recording record levels of philanthropic and community involvement. This includes more than 700 hours of employee volunteering and, as a business, donating at least 0.21% of profit before tax to charity in the last year.
