REG - Angling Direct PLC - Full Year Trading Update and Notice of Results

Angling DirectAnnouncement

Yesterday 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260226:nRSZ4162Ua&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4162U  Angling Direct PLC  26 February 2026

26 February 2026

 

Angling Direct plc

("Angling Direct" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Full Year Trading Update and Notice of Results

 

Adjusted EBITDA ahead of recently upgraded market expectations

 

Angling Direct plc (AIM: ANG), the leading omni-channel specialist fishing
tackle and equipment retailer, is pleased to provide the following unaudited
trading update in relation to the financial year ended 31 January 2026
("FY26"), ahead of announcing its Final Results on 12 May 2026. The Board is
pleased to report that the momentum experienced in Q3 continued into Q4 and it
now expects to report Adjusted EBITDA of circa £4.8m, ahead of market
expectations upgraded in October 2025(1).

 

Financial Highlights

 

 £m                                             FY 2026  FY 2025  Change

 Revenue                                        103.9    91.3     13.8%

 UK Retail store sales                          56.4     50.7     11.1%

 UK Online sales                                42.8     35.7     20.0%

 Total UK sales                                 99.2     86.4     14.8%

 Total European sales                           4.7      4.9      -4.7%

 Net cash & cash equivalents at period end      10.9     12.1     -9.5%

 

The Group delivered a solid trading performance over the second half of FY26
despite broader macro challenges, delivering full year total revenue growth of
13.8% to £103.9m (FY25: £91.3m).

 

Revenue growth in the UK business (stores and online) accelerated 14.8% (FY25:
11.7%) and was 11.9% higher on a like-for-like basis(2). This performance
reflected the continued success of the MyAD omni-channel customer loyalty club
alongside various self-help initiatives, including improved third party
ranging and availability and an increasingly compelling own brand offer. The
strength of this performance leaves the Group having substantially delivered
its medium-term objective(2) of £100m of UK revenues within two years.

 

UK like-for-like store sales grew 5.8%, benefitting from increased footfall
and higher transaction volumes. The Company accelerated its new store opening
programme through the year, utilising its strong balance sheet to open six new
sites across the UK, whilst closing one underperforming store. These new
stores, alongside those opened in FY25, contributed an additional £5.6m of
sales in the year and the Company now operates 58 stores across England and
Wales.

 

UK Online sales increased by 20.0%, driven by higher unique customers and the
ongoing success of the MyAD loyalty and repeat purchase membership model.

 

Outside the UK, the Group's European online sales decreased to £4.1m (FY25:
£4.6m) as the Group maintained focus on its key markets of Germany and the
Netherlands while continuing to balance market optionality and a
forward-looking view of the likely returns in this area. Further progress was
made in reducing European operating losses and positioning the operation for
long-term profitable growth, with the ambition to build a sustainable European
business while increasing our total addressable market.

 

Aligned with its medium-term objectives, management remains focused on gross
margin development through a number of initiatives including: improved
ranging; buying and own brand deployment; and driving cost efficiency through
innovation and operational leverage as the UK business scales.

 

The strong trading performance and focus on maintaining balance sheet strength
has enabled the Group to continue applying its capital allocation policy. This
has been achieved by planned investment in growth through the Group's
accelerated new store roll out, technology deployment in both its store and
digital operations alongside returning capital to shareholders as part of its
ongoing share buyback programme. As a result, net cash reduced to £10.9m at
31 January 2026 (31 January 2025: £12.1m). The Group returned £1.1m to
shareholders through its share buyback programme in FY26. As at the date of
this announcement, the total returned to shareholders since the beginning of
the programme in December 2024 is approximately £1.7m, representing
approximately 6.0% of the Company's issued share capital.

 

As a result of the strong operational performance delivered in the year and
further reduction of the European losses, the Board is confident in delivering
a FY26 Adjusted EBITDA of circa £4.8m, ahead of recently upgraded market
expectations(1).

 

Steve Crowe, CEO of Angling Direct, commented:

 

"FY26 was the best year in Angling Direct's history, delivering record
revenues and profits despite the persistent challenging consumer backdrop in
the UK. The team has been busy, opening six new stores in Chester, Burnley,
Bradford, Stourport, Grimsby and Croydon, taking the total to 58 stores across
England and Wales. We have also continued to develop our online offer while
growing our MyAD omni-channel customer loyalty club to over 600,000 members at
year end.

 

"In continental Europe, we maintained focus on our key markets of Germany and
the Netherlands and continued to reduce operating losses while retaining
optionality across our operations.

 

"The strong performance delivered in the year has culminated in Angling Direct
substantially achieving its £100m medium term revenue target within two years
and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the AD team for their
tireless efforts and continued dedication to our customers. As a result of
this successful milestone, the Board intends to update its medium-term
ambitions at the Group's Final Results on 12 May 2026."

 

 

 1  Angling Direct believes that, prior to publication of this announcement,
    current consensus market expectations for the year ended 31 January 2026 are
    for revenues of £102 million and pre-IFRS 16 Adj. EBITDA of £4.35 million
 2  The UK business like-for-like performance includes the total of the UK digital
    business and the like-for-like UK stores

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Angling Direct plc                         via FTI Consulting
 Steven Crowe, Chief Executive Officer

 Sam Copeman, Chief Financial Officer

 Singer Capital Markets - NOMAD and Broker  +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
 Peter Steel

 James Todd

 FTI Consulting - Financial PR              +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
 Alex Beagley                               anglingdirect@fticonsulting.com (mailto:anglingdirect@fticonsulting.com)

 Matthew Young

 Harleena Chana

 

About Angling Direct

 

Angling Direct is the leading omni-channel specialist fishing tackle retailer
in the UK, with an established and growing presence in Europe. Headquartered
in Norfolk UK, the Company sells fishing tackle products and related equipment
through its network of approximately 60UK retail stores, as well as through
its leading digital platform (www.anglingdirect.co.uk
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.co.uk&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbmdsaW5nZGlyZWN0LmNvLnVrLw==&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=K2FWYTRxeDV6cWRxd2I5dVpOODk5dnFObVU2U2p5WElLNndSM01SaStUcz0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
) and the MyAD Fishing Club app. The Company has three further native language
websites in its key European territories (www.anglingdirect.de,
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.de&u=d3d3LmFuZ2xpbmdkaXJlY3QuZGU=&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=VVRndGRoM1kvaFpNWnRpMzZ0M3NsT2I1NFdGTEp6ZllkYnFBaFFZb2FNWT0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
.fr, .nl), with orders fulfilled by its international distribution centre in
The Netherlands.

 

Angling Direct's purpose is to inspire everyone to get out and enjoy an
exceptional fishing experience, regardless of background or ability, in the
great outdoors. Angling Direct's active digital channels and its 500
colleagues contribute to the Company's ethos of care for the wider community
and the environment (www.anglingdirect.co.uk/sustainability
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.co.uk&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbmdsaW5nZGlyZWN0LmNvLnVrL3N1c3RhaW5hYmlsaXR5&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=a25La0pYblhuR0diWS9OWVhUTEJtSjRiNmhCdktRWnNiUG9ibXlUMjNuTT0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
). Angling Direct currently sells over 25,000 fishing tackle products from
industry leading brands alongside its own brands 'Advanta', and entry level
offering 'Discover'.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTQELFLQLLFBBF



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved