Plenti has exceeded its FY27 lending run-rate target early, reporting record quarterly originations of $613 million and an expanded loan portfolio of $3.5 billion. Growth accelerated across renewable energy and personal lending, although higher funding costs and a small rise in credit losses remain important watchpoints.
- Record $613 million quarterly loan originations, up 29% year on year
- Loan portfolio reaches $3.521 billion, up 24% year on year
- Renewable energy originations more than double to $117 million
- Revenue rises 18% to $89.7 million
- Net interest margin holds at about 5.3% despite higher funding costs
Plenti crosses $600m quarterly lending threshold
Plenti Group Limited (ASX:PLT) has cleared the $600 million quarterly lending mark for the first time, giving the digital lender an early run at its FY27 exit-rate objective. Loan originations reached a record $613 million in the three months to 30 September, up 29% from the prior corresponding period and 14% from the previous quarter.
The result lifted Plenti’s loan portfolio to $3.521 billion, a 24% increase over the year and 7% rise in three months. Revenue also climbed 18% year on year to $89.7 million. The latest quarter extends the momentum reported in the record $536m quarter, when Plenti said it had established a foundation for its FY27 growth and profitability targets.
Renewable energy and personal lending lead growth
Renewable energy lending was the standout division. Originations more than doubled from a year earlier to a record $117 million, rising 36% on the prior quarter. Plenti attributed the expansion to federal and state government battery incentives, including the Western Australian Residential Battery Scheme and the New South Wales Home Energy Saver program, which has scaled since its June launch.
Personal lending also set a record at $186 million, up 21% year on year and 10% quarter on quarter, with the direct channel accounting for 51% of originations. Consumer automotive lending reached $180 million, up 7% year on year and 20% on the prior quarter, while commercial lending contributed $129 million after a record first quarter influenced by financial year-end activity. The NAB powered by Plenti automotive portfolio rose 22% from the previous quarter to $186 million.
Pricing absorbs higher funding costs
Plenti said the average net interest margin on new originations held at about 5.3%, unchanged from the first quarter, despite a roughly 40-basis-point increase in the market component of funding costs during September. The company increased customer pricing in September and made further changes in October.
Because most loans are fixed-rate and hedged when originated, Plenti said the funding-cost increase had not affected its existing loan book. It does, however, place greater importance on pricing discipline for new lending. The company said it continued to have one of the lowest funding costs among comparable lenders, pointing to its July automotive asset-backed securities transaction and October personal lending and renewable energy transaction.
Credit metrics remain contained as book expands
Annualised net credit losses were reported at 96 basis points, compared with 94 basis points in the prior corresponding period. More than 90-day arrears eased to 42 basis points from 46 basis points at the end of the previous quarter, but remained above the 35-basis-point level recorded a year earlier. The portfolio’s weighted average Equifax credit score was unchanged at 851, and Plenti reported no single exposure above $300,000.
There is a comparability wrinkle in the release: its narrative cites 98 basis points for the prior quarter after excluding the benefit of a debt sale, while the historical table records first-quarter net credit losses at 68 basis points and shows a 28-basis-point quarter-on-quarter increase. All figures are preliminary and unaudited, making the half-year results due on 25 November the next clearer test of profitability, funding costs and credit performance.
FY27 profitability targets remain in place
Plenti said it remains on track for its remaining FY27 objectives, including meaningful growth in cash profit before tax and a cost-to-net-margin ratio below 55%. The immediate tension is familiar for a fast-growing lender: whether higher pricing can preserve margins without slowing the origination engine, while credit performance holds as the portfolio moves towards the company’s longer-term $5 billion ambition.
Bottom Line?
The $600m run rate has arrived early, but the 25 November half-year results should show whether pricing and credit discipline are keeping pace with portfolio growth.
Questions in the middle?
- Can Plenti maintain roughly 5.3% margins if funding costs remain elevated?
- Will arrears and net credit losses stay contained as the portfolio approaches $5 billion?
- How durable will government-supported renewable energy lending be once battery incentive programs mature?