Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

South Canterbury Finance is restructuring to merge its nine finance companies into a single entity.

The company says the amalgamation is in the best interests of the group and its investors, as operating under one brand will save the group time and money.

Its nine finance companies trade under regional names, and from October they will all be known as South Canterbury Finance.

The company's trustee will hold a charge over the assets of each of the nine finance companies.

Last week, South Canterbury Finance reported an $82.7 million profit in the year to June, which included a $40 million gain from the sale of its 13% stake in Dairy Holdings.

Excluding that, South Canterbury's profit was almost $5 million lower than the $47 million it made the previous year, due to an increase in bad debt provisions and the cost of keeping higher cash reserves.

The company says its directors have been monitoring its structure for some time.