Charter Court Financial Services Group Ltd said March 20 that it expects to commence dividend payments with an interim dividend in respect of the first half of 2018.

The interim dividend will be payable in the second half. The British buy-to-let mortgage lender said it continues to target a dividend payout ratio of at least 15% of profit for the year, with the aim of increasing it over the medium term as the company's balance sheet grows.

Charter Court reported preliminary consolidated full-year 2017 profit after tax of £81.3 million, more than double from £37.3 million in the prior-year period. EPS increased year over year to 34.9 pence from 16.8 pence, while return on equity rose over the same period to 28.6% from 18.7%.

The company's loan book stood at £5.4 billion in 2017, compared to £3.8 billion a year earlier. The net interest margin for the year was 3.19%, compared to 3.08% in 2016.

Charter Court said its targets for 2018 include loan-book growth greater than 20%, a cost-to-income ratio in the low 30%, cost of risk and return on equity of mid-20%, a minimum common equity Tier 1 ratio of 13% and a net interest margin greater than 300 basis points.