H and T cashing in on credit squeeze

High Street pawnbroker,H and T says it has benefited from a consumer credit squeeze, while gold purchasing continues to drive profits.

Adjusted profits before tax for 2011 were £23.5m, a 13.9% gain on 2010. Earnings per share rose 4.8% to 51.12p while the full year dividend has been hiked 13.2% to 10.75p per share.

H&T opened 25 new stores in 2011 taking the total number of outlets to 200, with the new sites performing ahead of management expectations.

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Its pawnbroking operations saw record levels of lending, citing research which suggests that eight to 10 million people in the UK "have no access to traditional credit sources".

H&T makes money through three streams: pawnbroking, retail sales of jewellery and wholesale sales of jewellery and gold. It says putting jewellery and watches in its shops' windows has attracted customers while also reminding them of the kind of collateral needed to access the company's cash.

H&T's Chief Executive John Nichols said: "pawnbroking operations have performed strongly with pledge book growth of 18.0% year on year. Gold purchasing also continues to be a strong source of profitability and cash flow in supporting the Group's continued store expansion programme."

At 09:01 the stock had gained 1.5%. Over the last 12 months H&T has risen 9.5%.

BS