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Ramsdens has reported a 173% increase in profit before tax to a record £16.7m for the six months ended 31 March 2026.
The half-year figure surpassed the £16.2m profit before tax recorded by the Middlesbrough-headquartered group for the entirety of the previous financial year.
Group revenue also rose 62% to £83.7m during the period, up from £51.6m in the first half of the prior year.
The performance was driven by the purchase of precious metals, where gross profit grew 130% to £17.5m due to a high gold price and increased volumes.
The company expanded its retail store network to 172 sites after completing two new openings and one acquisition.
The pawnbroking loan book also grew from £13.8m at the end of the first half to £14.5m by 31 May 2026.
Foreign currency gross profit fell 9% to £4.6m despite stable transaction volumes. Management attributed the lower margins to more travellers switching to digital services, including the Ramsdens multi-currency Mastercard, which now has approximately 50,000 cards in issue.
The group warned that recent reports of fuel shortages could disrupt summer airline schedules and impact high street holiday currency demand.
However, the board increased its interim ordinary dividend by 33% to 6.0p per share, alongside a special dividend of 3.0p per share.
Full-year profit before tax is now expected to land between £30m and £33m, ahead of the consensus market forecast of £28.6m.
Peter Kenyon, chief executive, said: “The group is in a great position. While the gold profits grab the headlines, the group has also delivered gross profit growth of 18% in pawnbroking and 31% in retail jewellery. Customer numbers in FX continue to be strong with total currency exchanged broadly flat. The group has maintained a conservative approach to pawnbroking loan to value ratio and provides additional interest rate reductions assisting customers in financial difficulty.
“The strong profits we are generating are funding the growth in our working capital assets and an accelerated new store opening programme, as well as rewarding shareholders with an increased dividend.
“Whilst the economic backdrop remains challenging with increasing employment costs, high interest rates and continued inflation, we remain highly confident in our opportunity to further strengthen the performance of our existing stores while adding new locations, executing against our established long-term growth strategy. Our balance sheet remains strong and our high level of cash generation provides options on how we allocate our capital to achieve growth. I’d like to thank the whole Ramsdens team for their continued focus on providing a great service and helping customers in their everyday lives.”
