Loan servicing company Pepper Finance Ireland reported a 28% increase in its pre-tax profit to €15.1m during 2023, despite an underbilling error which saw it undercharge mortgage payments to some customers.
Pepper Finance is a loan services provider and is used by banks as well as investment funds to manage their Irish loans.
According to its latest financial statement, the company’s revenue increased 12.7% over the year, to €66.6m.
The company said it currently has €22.8bn client assets under management. This is a decrease from €24.7bn recorded at the end of 2022, largely due to customer loan repayments and portfolio sales.
During 2023, the company identified “an error in its mortgage repayment process which has led to mortgage repayments from certain customers being lower than they should be”.
This underbilling error occurred because these customers’ monthly mortgage repayments did not increase following changes in the European Central Bank rate from as early as August 2022.
The company said it has set aside €4.55m for the cost of remediating the underwriting error.
Pepper’s director said they were “confident” in the company’s outlook.
Pepper Finance has been at the centre of a number of court cases in recent years.
Earlier this month, the High Court ruled a woman was entitled to a new hearing over Pepper’s moves to repossess her house after the company provided the court with a mortgage deed that was three-quarters blacked out.