Intrum, Europe's biggest debt collector, said on Friday its second-quarter results would be substantially above its previous outlook as its markets had bounced back faster than expected since the pandemic hit.

The Swedish company expects a preliminary adjusted EBIT of 1.345 billion crowns (£115.17 million) in the quarter, compared to its May forecast of 1.095 billion, it said in a statement.

Intrum Chief Executive Mikael Ericson said the firm had seen a relatively fast return toward normality across its 24 European markets during the second half of the quarter.

"This has enabled the stronger development of our operations and collections above our previous internal expectations. In addition, strict cost control has allowed us to mitigate the impact from the revenue shortfall connected to Covid-19," he said.

The firm said investments for the second quarter amounted to approximately 1.267 billion crowns. Intrum is due to report second-quarter results on July 23.

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Niklas Pollard)