H&T Group PLC Trading Update and Notice of Results (8137N)

TIDMHAT

RNS Number : 8137N

H&T Group PLC

23 January 2019

23 January 2019

H&T Group plc

("H&T" or "the Group" or "the Company")

TRADING UPDATE AND NOTICE OF RESULTS

H&T Group plc ("H&T" or "the Group") is pleased to provide a trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2018.

H&T expects to report its results for the year ended 31 December 2018 on 12 March 2019.

The Board is pleased to announce that, following a strong quarter four performance for pawnbroking and retail, at this stage we anticipate the full year profit before tax to be in line with the Board's and current market expectations.

The key components of the results are:

-- another good performance in its lending operations, with the pledge book increasing by 8% due to increased customer numbers and an increase in loans on quality watches;

-- a 35% growth in the Personal Loans book because of the expansion in our longer term, lower interest rate loan product;

-- the continued momentum of the jewellery retail business that delivered 7% sales growth on prior year;

   --    strong income growth from the foreign exchange segment, up 22% on prior year. 

John Nichols, chief executive, commented:

"We continued to make good progress in delivering our strategy in the past year, particularly in developing our digital capability to complement our store estate. We have also seen growth in our secured pawnbroking lending, primarily driven by increased customer numbers. Our personal loan product offering has also been refined with a focus towards in-store lending, with more customers qualifying for our lower cost loans.

The growth in retail sales has come through an expanded range of new jewellery and the development of both click-and-collect and online sales.

We are particularly pleased with the growth of our foreign exchange proposition.

The Group's performance over the past three years demonstrates the success of our strategy to access new customers and markets. Demand for our products remains strong and we look to the future with confidence."

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January 23, 2019 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)