Market Commentary and Intraday News

Cash America to close some Mexico pawn shops

236 days ago

(AP:FORT WORTH, Texas) Cash America says it plans to close about 147 of its unprofitable jewelry-only pawn shops in Mexico before the end of the year.

The pawn shop operator and payday lender said Thursday that a small number of jewelry-only shops will be converted into full-service locations over the next six months.

The company says that its pawn shops in Mexico reported a loss of $8.3 million for the six months ended June 30, mostly because of unprofitable jewelry-only locations.

Cash America International Inc. will now concentrate its efforts on full-service pawn shops in Mexico that offer pawn loans based on the pledge of general merchandise and jewelry collateral.

The company has opened 43 full-service pawn locations in Mexico in the past two years. It anticipates running 47 full-service pawn shops in Mexico once its actions are complete.

Cash America anticipates that the shop closings will result in charges of $28 million to $32 million. It expects to take the charges mostly during the quarter ending on Sunday.

Its shares rose 50 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $37.57 in morning trading. Its shares are trading near their 52-week low of $34.85 set in late July. They traded as high as $57.74 in October 2011.

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