Pawnbroking chain Ramsdens has revealed it has made an extra 拢600,000 profit after scrapping some of its jewellery stock to take advantage of a rise in the price of gold.
The Middlesbrough-headquartered firm took the decision to scrap a proportion of its slower-moving jewellery after the price of gold went up.
The high price Ramsdens received for the scrap meant that it will be able to report an additional 拢600,000 of gross profit in its first half results.
Ramsdens has been growing its store portfolio since its listing on the stock exchange in 2017, and has made a number of openings after acquiring stores from The Money Shop.
CEO Peter Kenyon said the company鈥檚 growth was testament to its strong business model and pointed to the recent collapse of rival pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond as a sign of a tough market.
Albemarle & Bond revealed last month that parts of its business had 鈥渃eased trading鈥, leaving customers unsure where their belongings were being kept. A number of the company鈥檚 stores were closed but its stock was taken over by H&T through an 拢8m deal.
Mr Kenyon said: 鈥淭he group has delivered a good performance in the first half of the year. Once again this reflects the strength of the group鈥檚 diversified income streams which continue to offer resilience in what remains a challenging consumer environment.
鈥淭he stores acquired from The Money Shop have performed well and the board continues to appraise acquisition opportunities in this highly fragmented market. The widely publicised recent collapse of one of the group鈥檚 largest competitors has again highlighted the importance of our outstanding and highly-trusted customer proposition.
鈥淭he board remains confident that the group will continue to successfully deliver its strategic objectives and make further progress during the second half of the year.鈥
Ramsdens Holdings Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange鈥檚 Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Following this morning鈥檚 announcement the company鈥檚 share price rose from 193.5p per share at close of play on Friday to a high of 200.92p today. At the time of writing it has fallen slightly to 196p per share.
