Ramsdens Holdings PLC (AIM:RFX) climbed back into the black in the first six months, as trading conditions began to normalise following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pawnbroker and currency exchange services provider reported pretax profit of £2.2mln for the half-year to 31 March 2022, in line with its expectations and up from a loss of £0.1mln in the same period last year.
Gross revenue grew by 51% to £29.3mln, with jewellery retail revenue surging 62% to £13.1mln.
The pawnbroking loan book stood at £7.5mln at the end of March, up from £5.7mln 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 predicted.
Gross profit from its foreign currency exchange business was boosted by the lifting of international travel restrictions, rising to £3.4mln from £1mln.
“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,” said chief executive Peter Kenyon.
As a result of the rebound in trading, the company resumed dividend payments with a proposed interim payout of 2.7p per share.
Ramdens said trading has continued to improve after the half-year end, with foreign currency volumes having increased to around 85% of pre-pandemic levels.
The pawnbroking loan book has continued to grow, the weight of precious metals purchased has increased and retail jewellery has remained strong, it added.
CEO Kenyon said the company’s growth strategy is on track, with three of the eight new stores planned for this year now open and trading above expectations.
The company predicted a return to “substantially normal trading conditions” by the end of the current financial year, although it noted the difficult global macroeconomic climate.
“Despite these challenges, the board is confident in the group's ability to withstand the inflationary impact to the cost base and anticipates delivering growth across all of the group's income streams over the medium term,” it said.