Underlying profit before tax for the first six months of the year was up 40% to £46.5m.
The mutual’s results showed it achieved record market share, with net mortgage lending reaching £751m for H1 2010, equivalent to 31% of all net mortgage lending in the UK.
In addition, the Coventry’s gross mortgage advances amounted to £1.6bn or 18% of all mortgage advances by the building societies and mutuals sector.
It put down the rise in its market share to the number of lenders that have been forced to withdraw capacity from the market.
The average LTV ratio on advances made in the H1 2010 was 54%, while its mortgage assets have increased by 6% during the first half year, a rate of growth broadly in line with the Coventry’s long-term performance over the past ten years.
The Coventry’s prudent approach to lending has maintained the quality of its mortgage book, with just 0.79% of mortgage balances 2.5% or more in arrears, slightly down on the end of 2009.
David Stewart, chief executive of Coventry Building Society, said: “We have remained very much open for business, lending at modest loan-to-value ratios and to low risk borrowers.
“The increase in margins available for new mortgages means that our ability to continue to lend has helped support profitability.”
The society’s growth in mortgages has been funded by a large increase in savings balances, which rose by £1.7bn (13%) during the first half of the year.
The reported figures for Coventry Building Society do not include the forthcoming increase in mortgage and savings balances when it completes its merger with Stroud & Swindon on 1 September.
It has announced that Stroud & Swindon’s intermediary brand ITL Mortgages will close to new business as of that date.
Stewart said: “The impact of forthcoming regulatory changes, including those affecting capital and liquidity, will no doubt bring new challenges, whilst we must remain alert to the possibility of a significant deterioration in the housing market and the wider economy.
“Nevertheless, prevailing market conditions continue to help our competitive position. The society’s performance is strong and we retain the flexibility to adjust margins should the operating environment deteriorate.”
