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US pawnbroker FirstCash, which bought H&T only last August, made a recommended cash offer for Ramsdens at a serious 609p per share. But after shareholder protest, the offer was raised to an even madder 675p. Throw in a 9p dividend and shareholders get 684p! On full year pretax profit of £30-33m, implying EPS of 73-80p, it works out as a PE... ...
Ramsdens’ third unscheduled update in three months indicates it expects FY26 pretax profit to be between £28.5-31.5m (previously £24-28m). While much of this upgrade is due to the purchase of the precious metals business, which has benefited from prevailing gold prices, there was also strength in jewellery retail and pawnbroking. Gain on tip: 18... ...
Just two months after its last upgrade, Ramsdens has delivered another. Gold buying again proved the swing factor, with the average gold price year-to-date 50% higher and the amount of gold purchased up 50%. Pleasingly, Ramsdens also said it has seen stronger jewellery sales (+25% in H1) and pawnbroking at record levels (the loan book hit £13.5m... ...
The current market conditions seem perfectly tailored for Ramsdens, now the only listed pawnbroker. As full year results this month showed, pretax profit and EPS surged 40% to £16.2m and 37p, respectively. Everyone focuses on gold buying as the main driver to Ramsdens - and it was: average 9-carat gold rose 34% to £28.23/gram, volumes up 14%, an... ...
The sustained rally in gold - now above US$4,000/oz - has prompted Ramsdens to upgrade FY25 guidance. Unlike peer H&T, which fell to a bidder earlier this year and remains primarily focused on pawnbroking, Ramsdens has long positioned itself more aggressively in the precious-metals segment. Store staff are notably proactive in encouraging cu... ...
H&T’s full year results to December showed sales up 20% to £265.4m. Pretax profit was up 10% to £29.1m and EPS were up 5% to 50.9p, both setting new records. DPS were 18p, up 8%. H&T’s stores provide a range of services with overall gross profit up 22% to £155.4m. Within that, the biggest swing factor was the Pawnbroking gross profit, +1... ...
With the gold price hitting a new high the day Ramsdens reported its FY24 results, CEO Peter Kenyon was in good cheer. The number of stores rose by 7 to 169, giving rise to sales of £95.6m. Pretax profit was up 12% to £11.4m and EPS were 25.7p, a new record. Although all four divisions delivered an increase in gross profit to £51.5m, the swing f... ...
Helped by five new openings to take the total to 167, the latest H1 showed sales up 12% from £39m to £43.8m. Pretax profit increased by 8% to £4m for EPS of 8.8p. Ramsdens is indeed more diversified compared to its rival H&T, with a variety of services contributing to its overall business model. Pawnbroking accounts for 23% of Ramsdens’ gros... ...
During the month I spoke with Ramsdens’ CEO, Peter Kenyon. Five upgrades during the year to end September had culminated in a milestone pretax profit of £10.1m. Sales increased by 27% to £83.8m, and the gross profit, considered a better measure, rose by 20% to £45.8m. Pretax profit increased by 22% to £10.1m, with eps up 16% to a record 24.5p. A... ...
Chief executive Peter Kenyon was in good cheer when I spoke to him post Ramsdens’ H1 results - and with good reason too as it seems almost every single part of the business is on fire with 30%+ revenue growth. In the light of the results, forecasts were raised for the fifth time in 12 months. As I said in my recent write up on H&T (HAT; 435p... ...