H&T Group (AIM:HAT) – the pawnbroker survives but can it prosper?
Preliminary results for the year ending 31st December 2014 from AIM’s surviving pawnbroker look encouraging. It’s certainly been a tough time over the past few years but there could be an interesting recovering story here.
While the income statement points to a decline across the board, the year has been one of survival and rebuilding the balance sheet. As management pointed out, unlike many in the sector, HAT both survived and generated strong cash flows against a back drop of a low gold price, significant changes in consumer behaviour and a far tighter regulatory regime. The challenge now is to implement strategies to reflect this different environment. During the year the average gold price was £768 per troy oz, a fall of 15.0 %. This reduction impacts on the profit derived from pawnbroking scrap and…