-Return to profit in first half
-Jewellery sales jump 62%
-Dividend resumed
Shares in pawnbroker and currency exchange services provider Ramsdens (RFX:AIM), moved 1.8% higher to 210p following the announcement of encouraging in line results for the half-year to 31 March 2022.
The Group reported pre-tax profit of £2.2million compared with a 2021 half year loss of £0.1 million. Gross revenues increased by 51% to £29.3 million as trading activity increased in line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Group's balance sheet remains strong, with net assets of £37.6 million. The main assets are cash, pawnbroking loans secured on gold jewellery and watches and retail jewellery stock.
As a result of the rebound in trading, the company resumed dividend payments with a proposed interim payout of 2.7p per share.
JEWELLERY SALES SPARKLE
Middlebrough-headquartered Ramsdens witnessed particularly strong growth in jewellery retail sales with revenues surging 62% to £13.1 million.
Jewellery retail now accounts for 31% of group profits. Watch sales were particularly successful and experienced growth of 176% year on year. Online jewellery sales now account for 15% (HY20: 9%) of the Group's total retail sales.
Elsewhere within the business the pawnbroking loan book stood at £7.5 million at the end of March, up from £5.7 million a year earlier, as customers returned to normal spending habits and required short-term cash flow assistance, Ramdens said.
‘With restrictions in the availability of other forms of credit, and the squeeze on household incomes, we believe that the ease and simplicity of pawnbroking will lead to further loan book growth in the coming year,‘ it suggetsed.
The demand for Ramsdens’ foreign exchange services improved as international travel restrictions eased, driving a marked increase in gross profit to £3.2 million up from £1 million in the full year 2021.
Peter Kenyon, Chief Executive, commented:
‘We are pleased with the Group's very strong performance during the Period, which was characterised by significant increases in customer demand for both our jewellery proposition and our foreign currency offer as customer behaviour continued to normalise.
‘Our growth strategy action plan remains on track and is working. Of the eight new stores planned to open this financial year, three stores were opened during the first half and have traded above expectations.’
