Albemarle & Bond reports full year gross profit of £61.1m
In its full year trading results the pawnbroker has reported a gross profit of £61.1m, which was an improvement on the £53.6m recorded in 2010.
In the 12 month period ended 30 June 2011, the gross profit from pawnbroking was £31.5m, (£28.2m in 2010) with underlying growth of 15% before hedge costs. The gross profit from gold buying was £14.6m (£11.5m in 2010) up 27%, with volumes bought (by value) up 83%. Other financial services saw a 16% increase in gross profits to £8.6m (£7.4m in 2010).
As expected, costs increased by 20%, in line with a store expansion programme. Delivered profit before tax was up 5% to £21.0m (£20.0m in 2010) and a 6.7% increase in EPS of
28.0p (2010: 26.2p).
Albemarle & Bond reported that its new stores have continued to trade ahead of forecast, and there has been continual strong demand for short-term flexible loans and instant cash.
In the current year, the business predicts strong profit growth. A further 25 full line stores are expected, in addition to the 45 stores opened since 2009. Albemarle & Bond Holdings has a five year growth plan on track, and refinancing in place, with the intention to capitalise on increased demand.
Barry Stevenson, chief executive, said: “As this year has been one of transition, I am particularly pleased to be able to report a solid increase in profitability with the largest contribution coming from our core business, Pawnbroking. Gold Buying and Other Financial Services also contributed strongly and as a result we recorded profit before tax of £21.0 million, 5% up on the previous year, after funding the opening of an additional 28 new stores (2010: 17) which means we are now supporting a total of 45 stores under two years old. We also absorbed an increased gold hedge cost of £3.6 million in what was the final year of a fixed contract, up from £2.4 million last year.
He added: “Under our five year growth plan, we have made good progress in terms of developing the platform for a much larger business. Alongside the more visible store expansion programme, we are now operating from 202 outlets compared to 115 two years ago. We have invested in market research, people, training and our brand. As a result we have not only strengthened our existing core business but increased the opportunity to grow it substantially.
“We have experienced an encouraging start to the new financial year and we look forward to delivering our 21st year of consecutive growth.”
Share
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment.