H&T Group PLC (LON:HAT), the UK’s leading pawnbroker, has predicted that its profit before tax for 2019 will be at the top end of current market expectations.
In a trading update, the firm said the strong performance was driven by a number of factors, including a 39% year-on-year increase in its pledge book.
The firm's jewellery business saw sales grow by 7% while the group saw strong income growth from foreign exchange (FX) transactions - FX income was up 45% on 2018.
The increase in the gold price in 2019 gilded the lily, with the group seeing strong returns from precious metal scrappage.
The group continued to pursue its strategy of consolidating the pawnbroking industry, and chief executive John Nichols expressed his delight with the progress to date in integrating recently acquired trading sites and their associated pledge books.
"Further growth in pawnbroking has primarily been driven by increased customer transactions and the opportunity to serve more customers following the acquisitions made during the year. The ongoing refinement and rationalisation of our personal loan product offering has improved lending return,” Nichols said.
"We have improved retail through an expanded range of new jewellery and the development both of click-and-collect and online sales. We are pleased with the growth of our foreign exchange proposition, cheque cashing and newly introduced money-wire transfer operations,” the H&T boss added.
Shares in H&T rose 4.1% to 380p in early deals