Their average profit margin was 15%, higher than the 2.5% average of the entire economy, Trade Registry data show.
The revenue of the pawnbrokers shrank by 18% last year, probably because of the rising competition from fast cash lenders. The cumulated profits of the 18 companies rose by about 70% to RON44 million, though.
None of the major players posted any losses in 2014, and profits stood at RON100,000 to RON10 million. Pitesti-based Invest Intermed posted the highest profit margin, 41%, and the highest profit on the entire market, for that matter.
Baia Mare-based Bertus, which has one hundred offices in northern and western Romania and in Bucharest, was first in the pawnbrokers’ ranking again last year, when its revenue stood at RON55 million, 20% lower than in 2013, though.
Tezaur, which opened 40 offices in Bucharest during the crisis, lost the second position and fell to sixth in the ranking. The company posted RON21 million revenue in 2014, half as much as in 2013 and RON4.8 million net profit, one third lower than in the previous year. Profit margin rose 5% to 23%.
Second leading pawnbroker last year was Express Credit, which climbed two positions, while its revenue declined at a slower rate than the entire market’s, by 7%. Revenue stood at RON28 million and net profit at more than RON5 million. Iasi-based Express Credit was established by Bogdan and Ioana Gheorghiu in 1999 and acquired by US-held Dollar Financial Group in 2013 in a several million euro deal.
Rocri Trade (Piatra Neamt) kept its third spot last year, while revenue went down 29% to RON24 million. It posted RON4.2 million profit, 9% lower than in 2013, which means profit margin stood at 18%, higher than the 14% of 2013.
Pawnbrokers are a very lucrative business because they charge very high interests (up to 10% per month). They saw their revenue rise fast during the crisis, after banks and consumer finance companies turned off the money tap by tightening requirements loan seekers had to meet. (EUR1=RON4.4075)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)