REG - Franchise Brands PLC - AGM Statement and Q1 Trading Update

Franchise BrandsAnnouncement

Today 07:02

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260430:nRSd4788Ca&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4788C  Franchise Brands PLC  30 April 2026

30 April 2026

 

FRANCHISE BRANDS PLC

 

("Franchise Brands", the "Group" or the "Company")

 

AGM Statement and Q1 Trading Update

 

 

System sales accelerated in Q1 across all B2B divisions, driven in particular
by Filta International and Water & Waste Services

 

Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN), an international multi-brand franchise
business, will hold its Annual General Meeting at 11.00am today. Stephen
Hemsley, Executive Chairman, will provide the following update:

The Group achieved another period of record System sales in Q1 2026, growing
by 4% (FY 2025: 2%), with all B2B divisions returning to growth, supported by
a strong performance in the US and some encouraging signs of recovery in
Europe.  Overall, this represents a resilient performance reflecting the
essential nature of the majority of the Group's services, and the benefits of
international, sector and service diversification.

In the Water & Waste Services division, System sales in Q1 grew by 8% (FY
2025: 0%), driven by strong trading at Metro Rod following a targeted move to
focus on higher quality, higher value work and a catch-up on work delayed from
Q4 2025. Willow Pumps also continued to perform well as a result of continued
growth in Special Projects work.

System sales in the eight European Pirtek markets in which we operate grew by
2% in Q1 (FY 2025: 1%). Encouragingly, there was a noticeable improvement in
March as trading conditions improved particularly in Germany and also in
Benelux. This helped to offset a weak start to the year in Continental Europe
due to the severe weather.

Filta International in North America continued to perform strongly, with
System sales in Q1 increasing by 12% in local currency (FY 2025: 13%) and 5%
in Sterling (FY 2025: 9%).  We continued to expand the range of services with
the launch of FiltaClean Pro, a new kitchen ceiling cleaning service, which
saw strong take-up by Filta's franchise partners. Used cooking oil sales
increased by 35% in local currency (FY 2025: 24%) and 27% in Sterling (FY
2025: 20%). This resulted from a 13% increase in volume (FY 2025: 11%) and a
20% increase in the price (FY 2025: 12%).

Following a healthy start to the year, the Group is well positioned for a
full-year performance within the current range of analysts' forecasts(1).

 

Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, commented:

"I am pleased by the reacceleration of System sales in the early part of the
financial year as we continue to diversify our customer base and expand the
range of services.

"Filta International remains the standout performer, with a strong underlying
performance and robust UCO volumes and pricing. We are confident of
significant future momentum as a result of the successful launch of FiltaClean
Pro, a new kitchen ceiling cleaning service which opens up new sector
opportunities for us.

"Pirtek's performance reflected resilient underlying trading despite the
impact of the severe weather in Continental Europe in the early part of the
year. Encouragingly, there was a noticeable improvement in March as trading
conditions improved particularly in Germany and also in Benelux.

"The Water & Waste Services division has traded well in the early part of
the year following a targeted move to focus the business on higher quality,
higher value work and a catch-up of work deferred from Q4 2025.

"As a result of a healthy start to the year, the Group is well positioned for
a full-year performance within the current range of analysts' forecasts(1)".

(1) Current market expectations of Adjusted EBITDA for the financial year
ending 31 December 2026 are £35.9m to £38.0m. Adjusted EBITDA is earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exchange differences,
share-based payment expense and non-recurring items.

 

Enquiries:

 Franchise Brands plc                                                 + 44 (0) 1625 813231
 Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman
 Peter Molloy, CEO
 Andrew Mallows, CFO
 Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development Director

 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)  +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
 Matthew Blawat
 Jason Grossman

 Allenby Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                               +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
 Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance)
 Amrit Nahal / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales & Corporate Broking)

 MHP Group (Financial PR)                                             +44 (0) 20 3128 8100
 Katie Hunt / Hugo Harris                                             +44 (0) 7884 494112
                                                                      franchisebrands@mhpgroup.com

 

About Franchise Brands plc

Franchise Brands (FTSE AIM UK 50) is an international, multi-brand
franchisor focused on B2B van-based service with seven franchise brands and a
presence in 10 countries across the UK, North America and Europe. The
Group is focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a
franchise platform model and has a combined network of nearly 600 franchise
partners.

 

The Company owns several market-leading brands with long trading histories,
including Pirtek in Europe, Filta, Metro Rod and Metro Plumb, all of which
benefit from the Group's central support services, particularly technology,
marketing, and finance. At the heart of Franchise Brands' business-building
strategy is helping its franchisees grow their businesses: "as they grow, we
grow".

 

Franchise Brands employs just over 600 people across the Group and there are
over 3,000 people employed in the franchise community.

 

For further information, visit www.franchisebrands.co.uk
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/___http:/www.franchisebrands.co.uk___.bXQtcHJvZC1jcC1ldXcyLTE6bmV4dDE1OmM6bzo5NTNkZjRiZThjNjgxOWVhNjViNWFhNTA0YjM5ODk3MDo2OjY2OGY6NDViNTkzMDg4YjAxZGMxOGUwYzc1MWJhZTI5ZDAyZmUyYWI4N2YwZGE5NGFiODE1NTJjNTBkZmI2ZTY4M2Q1NjpwOkY6Tg)

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  TSTDZGZDRLGGVZM



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved