MIDAS SHARE TIPS UPDATE: Pawnbroker Ramsdens could be set for boost after lockdown with business expected to be brisk
By JOANNE HART, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 21:58, 30 May 2020 | UPDATED: 21:58, 30 May 2020
Ramsdens Holdings was flying high until the coronavirus outbreak. The Middlesbrough-based pawnbroking, jewellery and foreign exchange group declared a 30 per cent rise in profits to £8.5million for the year to March 31.
Ten new stores were opened, taking the total to 159. Every division was doing well and the firm made a tidy profit from buying and selling gold as well.
However, stores have been closed since late March, and brokers expect sales and profits to fall over the coming months as a result.
Midas recommended Ramsdens in December 2018 when the price was £1.66. By October last year, the shares had risen to £1.94 and we suggested selling half. By January, the stock had hit £2.40, but last week, it closed at £1.51.
The performance is disappointing but prospects are brighter than the price suggests. Stores will start to reopen next month, and the pawnbroking trade is likely to be brisk. Even if jewellery sales flag, the company should be able to make up some of the shortfall from buying and selling gold.
Source:
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/inv ... roker.html