Ramsdens Holdings – yesterday’s record Interims point towards a strong full year, shares now 345p, up 50% in two months, TP 385p

05.06.2025

The Interim Results to end-March reported yesterday by Ramsdens Holdings (LON:RFX) showed an 18% increase in its revenues and a 54% advance in its pre-tax profits.

The diversified financial services provider and retailer, noted that as a result of the record results, coupled with the sustained high gold price, and despite the additional employment cost pressure from April 2025 from the increases in employer's national insurance and the national living wage, the Board expects full year profits to exceed £15m, against the previous £11.4m.   

In reaction to that good news the group’s shares hit 360p at one stage, before closing at 345p, 15p up on the day, some 5% better.

That marks a cracking 50% performance since my most recently set 272p Target Price, fixed less than two months ago, on Wednesday 9th April when the shares were just 230p.

And there is still more to come.

The Business

Ramsdens Holdings is a prominent financial services provider and retailer headquartered in Middlesbrough.

Known for its versatile business model and customer-centric approach, the company has successfully carved out a niche in pawnbroking, forex exchange, jewellery retail, and other financial services.

Over the years, Ramsdens has established itself as a trusted brand among communities, balancing affordability with reliability.

The group traces its origins back to humble beginnings, from its initial days as a local pawnbroker, the company has grown to encompass a diverse portfolio of services.

Its strong leadership and strategic foresight have been instrumental in ensuring sustained growth and expansion.

Today, Ramsdens Holdings boasts some 169 branches across the UK, serving a wide customer base, as well as having an expanding online presence.

Core Services

Ramsdens Holdings has diversified its offerings to cater to the financial and retail needs of its customers.

Pawnbroking remains a cornerstone of its operations.

This service allows customers to access short-term loans secured against valuable items such as gold, jewellery, and watches.

The company prides itself on offering competitive rates and transparent terms, ensuring that clients feel secure in their transactions.

Ramsdens is also a leader in foreign currency exchange services, with an extensive range of currencies available at competitive rates, it simplifies travel money for customers planning holidays or business trips abroad.

Their no-commission model and straightforward process have made them a preferred choice for forex services.

The company has an impressive selection of fine jewellery available for purchase, ranging from wedding bands to luxury watches.

It sources high-quality products and offers them at accessible prices, making fine jewellery attainable for a broad audience while maintaining standards of excellence.

Ramsdens provides a valuable service to customers looking to sell gold or other precious metals, with transparent pricing and immediate payment options, the company has become a trusted avenue for gold sellers.

Additionally, the group also offers other services, including check cashing and personal loans.

The Interim Results

The six months to end-March reported revenues of £51.6m (£43.8m), while pre-tax profits were £6.1m (£4.0m), with earnings of 13.9p (9.0p) and paying an Interim dividend of 4.5p (3.6p), together with a 0.5p per share special dividend.

Management Comment

CEO Peter Kenyon stated that:

"We are proud of the progress Ramsdens has made in the first half of FY25.

We continue to benefit from our diversified business model that has enabled strong, profitable growth and attractive ROE for our shareholders.

While all of our income streams achieved growth during the first half, our purchase of precious metals segment delivered an outstanding performance, with the well-publicised and sustained exceptionally high gold price encouraging more customers to sell unwanted jewellery.

We are encouraged by the initial performance from our designated gold buying website which was launched during the Period with traffic significantly ahead of what we had expected.

As a result of the exceptional performance we are pleased to reward shareholders with a special interim dividend of 0.5 pence per share, taking the total interim dividend to 5.0 pence per share.

Looking ahead, the Group is well placed with continued opportunities to grow.

We have a strong balance sheet and good cash generation which provides options to how we allocate our capital.”

The Equity

There are some 32m shares in issue.

The larger holders include Downing (9.99%), TrinityBridge (9.93%), Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management (8.86%), Interactive Investor Services (8.00%), Otus Capital Management (4.93%), Rowan Dartington (4.27%), Peter Kenyon, CEO (3.60%), Stephen Burton (3.36%), Michael Johnson (1.68%), and Chelverton Asset Management (0.80%).

Broker’s View

The trio of analysts at Panmure Liberum – James Allen, Rae Maile and Ross Luckman – rate the group’s shares as a Buy, with an increased Target Price of 385p, up from 340p previously.

Their estimates for the current year to end-September see revenues of £109.0m (£96.0m), with pre-tax profits of £15.4m (£11.4m), lifting earnings to 34.3p (25.7p) and paying a 14.0p (11.2p) a share dividend.

For the coming year they look for £112.0m sales, £14.4m profits, 32.0p earnings and with a 13.8p per share dividend.

My View

What an excellent performance in the last few months, helped, no doubt, by the recent strength in the price of gold and boosted by the US bid for the H&T pawnbroking competitor.

Such a strong short-term price rise, to 345p, will inevitably bring out the profit-takers, so if you wish to add to holdings, it may well be prudent to stand back and closely watch the price movement for cheaper opportunities.

(Profile 07.11.19 @ 204p set a Target Price of 250p*)

(Profile 09.04.25 @ 230p set a Target Price of 272p*)

Asterisks * denote that Target Prices have been achieved since Profile publication.