Virgin Money Holdings UK PLC (VM.LN) said on Tuesday that pretax profit in 2017 rose 35%, adding that it expects to maintain double-digit returns and a progressive dividend in 2018.
The financial services provider said that profit for the year ended Dec. 31 rose to 262.6 million pounds ($367.5 million) from GBP194.4 million in 2016.
Underlying profit before tax rose 28% to GBP273.3 million, the company said. Virgin Money Holdings also said that its common equity tier 1, or CET1 ratio--a measure of a bank's financial strength--was 13.8%.
Net interest income rose 14% to GBP594.6 million, Virgin Money Holdings said.
The company declared a final dividend of 4.1 pence per share, up from 3.5 pence per share in 2016. Virgin Money Holdings said that its total dividend for the year was 6 pence per share, an 18% increase on the total dividend in2016.
Virgin Money Holdings said that investment in its core business and strategic priorities in 2018 will total GBP100 million, but added that the company will maintain a CET1 ratio of around 13%.