- First half pre-tax profit rises 31 per cent to £8.8mn
- Gross profit increases 15 per cent to £55mn
- EPS up 24 per cent to 16.26p
- Dividend hiked 30 per cent to 6.5p
Diversified financial services group H&T (HAT: 400p) is delivering strong growth in its pawnbroking business, an alternative credit market shunned by mainstream lenders.
In the first half, the pledge book surged 14 per cent to a record £114.6mn and is 35 per cent higher than 12 months ago, reflecting an increasing need of customers to access short-term credit to meet their cash flow requirements. Growth is also being driven by reduced market supply as several firms have exited the unsecured lending market.