UK Mint has a record year

The following is an edited release from The Royal Mint. For more information, please visit www.royalmint.com.

The Royal Mint has announced its annual results for 2015–2016, reflecting the highest revenue in the 1,100-year history of the organization in financial terms.

Significant growth in the precious metal trading activities of the company’s bullion division made a major contribution to this outcome, with increased competitiveness in the U.S. silver market at the core of the success.

Overall company revenue increased 39% to £360.6 million, or $616.5 million (2014–2015: £259.6 million), with revenue growth of at least 17% delivered by all three businesses — circulating coin, commemorative coin and bullion. The company returned an overall operating profit of £13.1 million (2015–2016: £11.4 million), the highest since the company was vested in January 2010, reflecting a 19% increase last year.

Demonstrating consistency of performance, The Royal Mint exceeded all four of its ministerial targets for the third year in a row, operationally. A key ministerial target to achieve 10% return on average capital employed (ROACE) was exceeded — the organization achieved 17.9% ROACE, which was an increase on the previous year’s 17%. The circulating coin division achieved its 100% U.K. on-time delivery target for the fifth year in a row.

 

Circulating coin

The Royal Mint Ltd. saw a rise in circulating coin sales by 17% to £124.0 million (2014–2015: £106 million), manufacturing some 4.4 billion coins and coin blanks for 40 countries (2014–2015: 4.6 billion for 30 countries). In the U.K., demand for domestic coinage remained strong, while a number of contracts secured with overseas countries transitioned denominations from banknotes into coins.

The Royal Mint’s high-security, patented technology developed by the company’s in-house research and development team to bring new banknote levels of security to coins for the first time was fully commercialized and operational this year. The feature has been incorporated into the 12-sided, £1 coin that will enter circulation by the Treasury in 2017.

 

Bullion

Growth in bullion activities saw revenue increase 64% to £185.6 million (2014–2015: £113.5 million) and contribution to operating profit increase 87% to £2.8 million (2014–2015: £1.5 million). Built on a number of precious metal trading activities, it is the company’s increased share of the U.S. silver market that is at the core of this growth.

Online precious metal trading website www.royalmintbullion.com (launched in 2014 to enable customers to buy, store and sell bullion coins at constantly updated live prices directly from The Royal Mint 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) proved attractive to small and large investors, with nearly 20,000 accounts opened by the end of March 2016.

Bullion products introduced during the year to complement the organization’s flagship Sovereign and Britannia bullion coins included Signature Gold, which helps investors benefit from economies of scale by buying fractions of large gold bars. In another noteworthy development for the division, Signature Gold was one of the Royal Mint gold products to be declared eligible for holding in self-invested personal pension schemes.

 

Commemorative coin 
and medals

The organization’s commemorative coin business had another strong year, with operating profit increasing to £11 million (2014–2015: £7.3 million). Revenue rose 27% to £51 million (2014–2015: £40.1 million).

The popularity of Royalty-themed commemorative coins produced to celebrate events — such as Queen Elizabeth II becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch (distributed to over 30 countries across the world), and the birth of Princess Charlotte — contributed to the results. Other strong performing themes included characters from the Beatrix Potter coin series. The Peter Rabbit silver proof coin sold out in eight days.