High gold prices lead to profits boost for Ramsdens
Pawnbroker chain Ramsdens has lifted its profit outlook for the year after it said it had received a boost from high gold prices.
The Middlesborough-based firm said it now expected to post profit before tax “slightly ahead” of analysts expectations, which were previously held at around £15.4m for the year ending 30 September.
The company said its precious metals segment had “continued to perform very strongly” in the second half of the year, with gross profit increasing 50 per cent year-on-year.
Gross profit also increased 15 per cent in the firm’s jewellery retail segment, with new and preowned jewellery and premium watches all “performing well”.
Peter Kenyon, CEO of Ramsdens, said: “FY25 has been another good year of progress for Ramsdens, as we continue to reap the benefits of our diversified income streams.
“Whilst we have benefited from the sustained high gold price within our purchase of precious metals segment, we’ve also continued to make good progress across our other income streams. In particular, our continued success in jewellery retail highlights a growing awareness of our value for money proposition.”
Ramsdens said profits in its foreign currency arm had remained broadly flat, after it benefited last year from the UEFA Euros and the Olympics.
The company’s number of stores remained at 169, with one franchised store. Ramsdens had previously announced a “slowdown” of its openings during this financial year.
It did, however, open new stores in Grantham and Burton during the period, as well as merging two of its central Glasgow stores and closing its kiosk site at Teesside Airport.
The company said that it now expects to open between eight and 12 new stores per year from the start of the 2026 financial year.
The firm’s pawnbroking loan book grew by eight per cent year on year to £11.5m.
The announcement came as gold rocketed to a new all-time high earlier this week, as investors flock to the safe-haven asset amid worries over global economic and political uncertainty
The precious metal raced above $4,000 (£2,987) an ounce for the first time, with its rally showing no sign of slowing.
The price of gold has been sent soaring in recent months, spurred on by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariff war, which kicked off in April.
The US government shutdown, which is now in its second week, has also added to investor nerves and sent them rushing for the yellow metal.
Investors traditionally view gold as providing protection from wider turbulence and high inflation.
Its price has jumped more than 50 per cent this year alone due to concerns over rising government debt worldwide, as well as political instability and expectations for lower interest rates in major economies, including the UK and US.