Irvine-based Spectrum Group International Inc., a gold trading and auction company that moved to Orange County from Connecticut last year, reported a big quarterly sales gain but shifted to a loss with the rising price of gold.
Spectrum said sales for the three months ended March 31 were up 31% from a year earlier to $1.37 billion.
The vast majority of Spectrum’s revenue, 97%, comes from distributing gold from government mints to various sellers.
The price of gold is up 30% in the past 12 months, helping to drive Spectrum’s revenue gain.
But higher prices alsol impacted the company’s profitability.
Spectrum posted a loss of $3.5 million for the quarter, versus a profit of $2 million a year earlier.
The company is among the largest based in OC by revenue but trades on the low-profile Pink Sheets exchange with a market value of $70 million.
Spectrum’s earnings came out after the close of trading Friday. Its shares were up 7% in regular trading on a down day on Wall Street.
The company is recovering from a stock collapse in 2006 after it was implicated in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving stamps in Spain, where majority owner Afinsa Bienes Tangibles SA is based.
Spectrum settled a suit brought against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission that alleged fraud in the stamp scheme. Spectrum settled without admitting or denying guilt.
