REG - Portmeirion Group - Preliminary Results
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RNS Number : 1400D Portmeirion Group PLC 06 May 2026
6(th) May 2026
Portmeirion Group PLC
(the "Group")
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2025
Positive progress on transformation plan
Portmeirion Group PLC, the global homewares brands group, announces its
preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Commenting on the Group's performance Mike Raybould, Chief Executive said:
"2025 was a transitional year for the Group, with material progress made on
our transformation programme and the development of a refreshed strategy -
Elevating Portmeirion.
We saw an improved performance in the second half of 2025, with strong
seasonal sell-through of our re-designed Christmas ranges. Strong trading
performance in the majority of the business was undermined by the introduction
of tariffs during the first half of the year in the US - our largest and
most profitable market.
Entering 2026, we are seeing positive signs in some key areas of our
transformation plan with overall trading in Q1 ahead of last year and the US
and International markets showing growth.
While macroeconomic uncertainty continues, the Board remains cautiously
optimistic about the Group's prospects. Portmeirion Group owns great premium
brands which provide us with significant global potential and we have clear
plans in place to help us reclaim lost ground, return to growth and deliver
performance."
Financial overview
2025 2024 Change
£m £m £m
Revenue 91.1 91.2 (0.1)
Headline (loss)/profit before tax(1) (3.6) 1.1 (4.7)
Statutory (loss)/profit before tax (7.2) 0.0 (7.2)
Headline EBITDA(1) 2.6 7.3 (4.7)
EBITDA (1.1) 6.3 (7.4)
Headline basic earnings per share(1) (25.3p) 8.04p (33.34p)
Statutory Basic earnings/(loss) per share (45.3p) 2.50p (47.80p)
Dividends paid and proposed per share (total in respect of the year) - 1.50p (1.50p)
Free cash flow (5.7) (3.7) (2.0)
Net debt (17.5) (12.1) (5.4)
(1)Headline (loss)/profit before tax measured as follows: Statutory
(loss)/profit before tax £(7.2)m add back additional inventory provision
£2.9m and Exceptional Costs £0.7m = Headline (loss)/profit before tax
£(3.6)m
Summary
Financial and Operational
o Positive trading performance offset by US market weakness in H1
o Revenue was in line with prior year at £91.1m (2024: £91.2m) and +1% on
a constant currency basis despite the disruption caused by US tariffs.
o Excluding the US market, Group sales were 8.6% higher on a constant
currency basis.
o Strong sell through of Christmas product in Q4, particularly online
o International markets, a key focus of our transformation plan, +14.3% in
constant currency.
o South Korea performance particularly encouraging with 25.6% growth in
constant currency.
o Wax Lyrical sales were in line with prior year, but with improvement of
£0.3m in PBIT.
o Profitability impacted by macroeconomic headwinds
o As previously reported headline loss before tax of £3.6m (2024: headline
profit before tax of £1.1m) primarily due to the disruption caused by US
tariffs, initial margin investment in accelerating our Made in Stoke-on-Trent
onshoring initiative and higher costs, including energy, National Insurance
and minimum wage increases.
o Statutory loss before tax reflects the headline loss plus additional
inventory write down of £2.9m (2024: £Nil) allowing the Group to responsibly
clear excess aged and second quality inventory, and an additional cost for
restructuring of £0.7m (2024: £1.0m).
o Active Balance Sheet management
o Cash flow generated from operations +£0.5m (2024: +£2.1m).
o Free cash outflow of £5.7m (2024: £3.7m outflow).
o Net debt £17.5m (2024: £12.1m) +£5.4m, due to the operating loss and
higher tariffs in closing US inventory, partially offset by improved working
capital management.
o No dividend is being proposed for the full year, in line with previous
guidance and focus on 'Fortress Balance Sheet'
o £2.5m inventory volume clearance in 2025
Strategic & Operational Highlights
o On-shoring and refreshed product strategy showing early encouraging signs
o Strong sell through growth on our UK-made Spode 'Christmas Tree' tableware
and on key like-for-like Christmas lines.
o Strengthened Leadership Team
o Promotion of Michael Scheepers as Chief Executive Officer as of week
commencing 11(th) May 2026 (subject to regulatory checks), Victoria Brabender
as our first ever Product Strategy Director, Sam Pearce promoted to Chief
Operating Officer, and Michael Close to President of Sales North America.
o Elevating Portmeirion Strategy
o Three strategic priorities to simplify the group's operating model to
deliver more attractive financial performance and return the Group to growth.
Drive higher returns, Focused expansion, Excellence everywhere.
o Energy
o As part of our long term energy hedging process, in October 2025 we placed
significant hedges for electricity at 100% of our requirements and gas at 80%
at favourable rates through to 31 March 2027.
o Energy usage down 1.3% on 2024 and 6.4% lower than 2023.
o We continue to call on Government for immediate inclusion of Ceramics
industry in the Supercharger Scheme.
Current trading & outlook
o Return to growth in Q1 2026 with revenue at the end of March ahead of last
year and with the US and International markets showing growth.
o Good initial progress against 'Elevating Portmeirion' strategic priorities
o Fortress balance sheet & drive higher returns:
§ Inventory clearance: Since the year-end we have had a number of material
excess inventory deals with a combined value of over £2 million. Management
continues to focus on realising cash to reduce net debt and invest to support
growth.
§ Wax Lyrical confirmed as non-core and a disposal will be sought in due
course.
o Focused Expansion:
§ Product license deal signed, since the year-end, with Ashley Wilde (a
leading British textile and soft furnishings company), strengthening our high
margin, capital light licensing business with building pipeline of further
licensing deals
§ USA Amazon sales team taken in-house and more initiatives planned across
the Group as we reinvigorate channels, distributors, sales & marketing and
open new markets. Such initiatives require upfront investments.
o Excellence Everywhere:
§ Successful initiatives to improve factory performance
§ Our Made in Stoke-on-Trent initiative extends beyond the factory. We have
taken certain activities in-house which were previously outsourced giving us
better customer insight and greater control of pricing (and in time inventory
management).
Update on US claims:
o Following the US Supreme Court ruling on 20th February 2026 that the use
of tariffs under IEEPA was unlawful, and having taken appropriate professional
advice, the Group has submitted a refund claim for $3m into the US Customs and
Border Protection (USCBP) Consolidated Administration and Processing of
Entries (CAPE) system.
o We continue to pursue our September 2023 claim of $0.8m with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) in the US for support under the COVID Employee Retention
Credits (ERC) Scheme. This programme has been very slow in settling claims
but we continue to pursue through our advisors.
o Any proceeds from either claim will be used to reduce the Groups net debt
in line with our Fortress Balance Sheet priority.
Notes: This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of
the retained UK version of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 ("UK
MAR").
ENQUIRIES:
Portmeirion Group PLC:
Mike Raybould, Chief Executive +44 (0) 1782 743 444
Jonathan Hill, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 1782 743 444
Houston:
Kate Hoare +44 (0)204 529 0549 portmeiriongroup@houston.co.uk (mailto:portmeiriongroup@houston.co.uk)
Charlie Barker
Polly Clarke
Shore Capital: +44 (0) 207 408 4090
(Nominated Adviser and Broker):
Patrick Castle Corporate Advisory
Lucy Bowden
Malachy McEntyre Corporate Broking
Isobel Jones
NOTES TO EDITOR:
Portmeirion Group PLC is a global homewares brand group based in
Stoke-on-Trent, England. The Group owns six unrivalled heritage and
contemporary brands; Spode, Portmeirion, Royal Worcester, Wax Lyrical and
Nambé. The Group serves markets across the world, with global demand
driven by diversified international markets including the key geographies of
the US, UK and South Korea.
CHAIRMANS STATEMENT
I present my second report as Non-Executive Chairman, with the Group
navigating another year of significant external macro-economic shocks, while
at the same time making material progress on our transformation programme and
developing a refresh strategy - Elevating Portmeirion. I am excited for the
Group's future, by the craftsmanship, skill and creativity I see across our
operations, by the colleagues I have met and by the customers I have spoken
with.
The Group finds itself at an important moment - it benefits from assets
(brands, heritage, freehold assets, plant & machinery, and inventory) well
in excess of its current market capitalisation, but also not currently
delivering a sufficient return on this significant and attractive asset base.
The Board and I firmly believe that the transformation work that we began in
2024, combined with the strategy refresh are critical to establishing a
sustainably higher profit, higher return, strong free cash flow generating
Group. This radical transformation will not happen immediately, and despite
significant macro-economic and geo-political headwinds which are out of our
control, there were signs of improvement in the second half of 2025 and the
Group has taken the positive momentum into 2026. Our transformation will
enable us to invest in growth, explore new expansion opportunities, build its
fortress balance sheet and reward shareholders.
2025 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Our results in 2025 reflect proactive measures the Group took to commercially
reset US product and distribution, alongside well-known cost pressures around
energy and wages. That said, the performance remains disappointing. Group
sales were in line with last year at £91.1m (2024: £91.2m) and +1% on a
constant currency basis. Headline loss before tax of £3.6m (2024: Headline
profit before tax of £1.1m) as a result of proactive commercial changes in
our US product offer and distribution, the impact of US tariffs, higher energy
costs and National Insurance and minimum wage increases. The Group ended the
year with net debt up by 44.6% at £17.5m (2024: £12.1m). We monitor our
performance against key performance measures, which are set out in the
financial overview in the Annual Report.
The strong trading performance in the majority of the business was undermined
by one market - the US - our largest and most profitable market. The
introduction of tariffs during the first half of the year adversely affected
our business. The Group made proactive commercial changes in the US product
offer and distribution, adversely affecting sales, but creating a stronger
platform to sustainably grow our profits from. Despite this hugely
disruptive period, on a like-for-like basis, most of our customers reported
strong sell through of our Christmas product in Q4 2025, particularly online;
in many cases up on the prior year highlighting that end demand for our
well-known brands and products remains strong. Excluding the US market, Group
sales grew 8.6% on a constant currency basis.
Our objective is to develop our premium brands responsibly and to realise
their full growth potential over the long term, across different products,
channels and markets. This will maintain our reputation, as an owner of great
homeware brands, drive profitability and shareholder returns. More on our
Strategy and Objectives is set out in our Annual Report
MADE IN STOKE-ON-TRENT
We have executed on our strategy to increase production from our
Stoke-on-Trent factory during the year, accounting for approximately 33.7% of
our branded tableware production during the year, an increase of c7% compared
to 2024. While this has had a short-term impact on gross margin due to high
energy and labour costs in the United Kingdom, we believe the mid-term
benefits (brand equity, responsiveness, customer appeal) far out-weigh this
impact. The success of our Christmas ranges was a good example of the
benefits of moving production back to the UK.
We will continue to work closely with our factory partners worldwide on
certain product lines and collections as they have a specific expertise and
consistently deliver high quality products.
REFRESHING AND STRENGTHENING OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
We made several important appointments to our Global Leadership Team in Q4.
Michael Scheepers joined as Group Brand and Commercial Director, Victoria
Brabender as our first ever Product Strategy Director, and Sam Pearce was
promoted to Chief Operating Officer. They bring a strong mix of commercial
expertise and outstanding calibre of homewares experience, with both external
hires joining from senior roles within internationally renowned cookware and
consumer brands. In the US, Michael Close was appointed President of Sales,
North America. The Group also made two further senior US sales hires in
January 2026 and appointed experienced industry executive leader Shaun
Dubberley to the new role of Wax Lyrical MD to drive improved results and lead
the business.
Mike Raybould has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer, having
launched the Group's transformation plan, strengthened the senior leadership
team, navigated Covid, energy shocks, cost inflation, and being with the Group
for 9 years. Michael Scheepers has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer
and will take up the appointment week commencing 11(th) May 2026 (subject to
regulatory checks).
The Board has confidence that this refreshed senior leadership team has the
energy, passion and experience to deliver our new strategy and take
Portmeirion into the next phase of its growth.
TRANSFORMING OUR BUSINESS: OUR 2025-2026 PRIORITIES
During the second half of 2025, the strengthened senior leadership team has
created a refreshed strategy for the Group - Elevating Portmeirion - which
leverages the collective strengths of the Group, setting a series of strategic
priorities that simplify the group's operating model, will deliver more
attractive financial performance and return the Group to growth.
1. DRIVE HIGHER RETURNS
Our balance sheet is too capital intensive, and we are not achieving an
acceptable level of profitability. To address both sides of this challenge,
we have a number of workstreams that will strengthen our balance sheet and
reduce inventory. At the same time, improved factory economics, a focus on
procurement, a move away from excessive discounting and disposing of non-core
assets will improve our profitability.
2. FORTRESS BALANCE SHEET
One of the key strategic priorities outlined in March 2025 was the creation of
a Fortress Balance sheet at Portmeirion. During the course of the year, we
have maintained a close relationship with Barclays, the provider of our RCF.
During the year our net debt has increased by £5.4m and the Group has agreed
covenant waivers with Barclays, recognising the transformation underway at
Portmeirion. We are in the final stages of completing a new £36m 5-year ABL
(Asset Backed Lending) facility secured against inventory, receivables and our
property assets. This facility is with a major international bank and has been
fully credit approved by the bank and is a more appropriate debt facility for
our Group. In addition, there are further steps available to us, to include
but not limited to, a future sale of our Wax Lyrical Business and a possible
sale & leaseback of our Trentham Lakes Distribution Centre.
3. FOCUSED EXPANSION
The Group is far from its sales potential in any of the markets in which
operates, and in most markets we have barely begun. To maximise our sales
potential, everything starts with our brand refresh and renewal of our product
portfolio, while taking full advantage of our perennial bestsellers. We are
embedding our brand mindset into everything we do.
Through refining our pricing architecture, introducing new premium products
and refocusing our distribution towards premium, full price channels, we have
multiple growth and profit levers to pull.
Expansion will come through a laser focused international expansion in five
priority markets, alongside our established UK, US and South Korean markets.
Our Direct to Consumer (DTC) strategy is primarily focused on our eCommerce
platform, capturing all the benefits that a move to one platform will open
up. Finally, product licensing is a significant, untapped opportunity for
the Group. Product licensing is now an integral part of all the product
roadmaps for each of our brands. This high margin, capital light growth
opportunity can quickly transform our P&L and ROCE.
4. EXCELLENCE EVERYWHERE
Our new and refreshed senior leadership team brings a new energy and wealth of
experience gained across the consumer branded sector. We are implementing
best practices from internationally recognised brands across our operational
processes, building on our craftsmanship and product expertise. Made in
Stoke-on-Trent has real resonance and relevance to our customers. By driving
operational and financial improvements from the factory, the factory will
become an ever more important differentiator for the Group.
Today, data is an area of relative weakness for the Group, leading to
inefficiencies, constraining consistency and constraining decision making.
We are embarking on a three-year data roadmap to build much more robust data,
align master data across the Group and radically improve our reporting and
forecasting capabilities.
BOARD
Our Group Board is contributing well towards the transformation now underway.
I am pleased with how the Board is operating, with good collaboration and
support to the Executive and Senior Leadership Team as they work towards
delivering our transformation plan and refreshed strategy. The Board welcomes
Michael Scheepers to his new role as Chief Executive Officer and will
provide support and guidance to Michael. The Board would like to thank Mike
Raybould for his significant contributions over the last 9 years and wish him
well in his future endeavours.
OUTLOOK
2025 has been a transitional year, with lots of areas of progress, albeit our
financial performance was disappointing and a long way from reflecting the
potential of the Group. We delivered an improved performance in the second
half of 2025, saw strong seasonal sell-through of our re-designed Christmas
ranges and our two most important trade shows in January 2026 - Atlanta and
Frankfurt - were encouraging.
The macro-economic backdrop remains uncertain, consumer confidence remains low
and there remains ongoing risk of global trade shocks, as has been witnessed
in the recent past. The UK continues to have energy costs significantly
higher than large parts of the developed economy and UK Government policies
have put significant pressure on wages.
Despite this, we are seeing positive signs in some key areas of our
transformation plan with overall revenue at the end of March 2026 ahead of
last year and the US and International markets showing growth. We have
experienced timing differences in Korea and our Wax Lyrical business is short
of budget projections but we believe the appointment of the first ever MD in
Wax Lyrical will drive improved results.
In addition, we are in the process of agreeing deals to clear old inventory
and continue to invest in the business to support the platform for growth,
which includes the development of our own inhouse Amazon capability in the US
to allow further control of brand pricing and a reduction in concentration
risk for sales and receivables. There will be some modest, but worthwhile,
upfront investments to deliver this improvement.
Following the US Supreme Court ruling on 20th February 2026 that the use of
tariffs under IEEPA was unlawful, and having taken appropriate professional
advice, the Group has submitted a refund claim for $3m into the US Customs and
Border Protection (USCBP) Consolidated Administration and Processing of
Entries (CAPE) system. We continue to pursue our September 2023 claim of $0.8m
with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US for support under the COVID
Employee Retention Credits (ERC) Scheme. This programme has been terribly slow
in settling claims but we continue to pursue through our advisors. Any
proceeds will be used to reduce the Groups net debt in line with our Fortress
Balance Sheet priority.
In March 2026, the business had 3 properties valued by Avison Young, a
globally recognised real estate advisory company. The 3 properties included
the Stoke HQ factory, offices and associated land and the Trentham Lakes
Distribution Centre and were valued at £11.7m (net book value: £5.2m).
Despite these uncertain times we have plenty of reasons to be cautiously
optimistic. We own great premium brands which provide us with significant
global potential and have clear plans in place to help us reclaim lost ground,
return to growth and deliver performance. I look forward to updating
shareholders on our progress in due course.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our people around the world who
work tirelessly every day for our brands, our customers who delight in owning
our branded product and finally, our shareholders for their ongoing support.
Peter
Tracey
Non-executive Chairman
STRATEGIC REPORT
STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES
Our Strategy: to establish the highest standards of manufacturing and creative
design, to maintain our reputation as makers of high-quality products, and to
develop our premium brands responsibly, so we continue to delight our
customers around the world.
Our Objective: to think and act as responsible brand owners at all times,
nurturing our premium brands for long term growth, constantly striving to
realise their full potential across different products, channels and markets.
If we are successful in our endeavours, we will enhance our reputation as a
great owner of homeware brands and retain committed and caring people who are
motivated to build a global business capable of sustainable growth, with
increasing profitability, lower risk, and higher returns to our shareholders.
Our key performance indicators are set out in the Financial Overview on page
1.
BRANDS
We have success when our customers connect with one of our premium brands,
when they have a great experience with our branded products, and when they
share their positive experience with family and friends.
As we continue our customer journey, we are fortunate to own several
incredible premium homeware brands which are known globally for their quality,
that excite with their creative designs and which have authentic rich origin
stories and histories.
Our Spode brand was founded in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England by
Josiah Spode I in 1770, Portmeirion was founded in 1965 by Susan
Williams-Ellis, daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who created the Italian
style Portmeirion Village in North Wales, and Royal Worcester was founded in
1751. Nambé, our premium design US homewares business was founded in Sante
Fe, New Mexico, US in 1951 and our home fragrance brand, Wax Lyrical, in
Cumbria, UK was founded in 1980.
Tableware is a functional product. Our products are certainly functional,
manufactured to the highest standards to be strong, resilient and durable. But
they are also designed to be tactile, beautiful, bold and loved. Our customers
delight in using our products every day, or to mark a special occasion, season
or celebrations with them, or love adding to a cherished collection that they
intend to pass down through the generations.
We are thankful that over 250 years ago Josiah Spode I had the integrity of
character and business nous to design 'planned permanence' into the beautiful
blue & white tableware he made in Stoke-on-Trent and sold to his customers
in London and around the world. We keep with Josiah's approach, and it
continues to serve us and our customers extremely well.
We are proactively working to centre production in Stoke-on-Trent, England
where possible, which will increase the proportion of products we manufacture
in the city. This had an impact on our gross margins in 2025, but it is a
necessary investment of margin in our brands. 'Made in Stoke-on-Trent' is the
foundation of our brand DNA and it is what our customers expect from our
brand. This margin investment will take time to repay, but over the medium
term, as volume increases, the factory economics improve materially, and we
are confident that we will recover that margin investment and reap benefits
including increased responsiveness and enhanced brand equity.
STRATEGY
Over the last year, our Senior Leadership Team has worked on a revised
strategy for the Group, with three inter-connected strategic priorities - to
simplify the Group; deliver attractive financial returns and unlock growth
opportunities. Collectively, these priorities will reduce debt and
inventory, improve gross margin and drive sales growth. This revised
strategy is called Elevating Portmeirion and built on three work streams.
DRIVE HIGHER RETURNS
(1) Inventory reset
The Group has built up an excess inventory position over the last few years,
reflecting a combination of factors including weaker than expected end
markets, a desire to maintain factory volumes for unit cost efficiency and the
need to do responsible end-of-line clearance to protect brand and pricing,
particularly in the Korean market. These are all being addressed with the
intention of operating with a structurally lower value of inventory. This will
free cash tied up in inventory, improve operational processes and reduce
excessive discounting, hence enhancing brand equity.
(2) Fix factory economics
Our Stoke-on-Trent factory is a core asset of the Group and a key part of the
value of our brands, but its performance in recent years has been challenging
both in terms of production efficiency and cost per piece. There has been a
significant impact from cost inflation including minimum wage inflation,
government National Insurance increases and the high energy costs in the UK.
In addition, in 2025 factory efficiency saw one off impacts from both the
acceleration of onshoring our Spode Christmas Tree range and planned trials to
switch to a new glaze, which were subsequently reversed. The result has been
gross margin erosion. During the second half of 2025, Sam Pearce (Group COO)
took charge of the factory, to ensure coordination with the rest of the Group
and to improve the factory economics. The early signs are encouraging and we
will focus on driving further improvement in 2026, delivering improved gross
margin for the Group, strategic alignment with our customers and improved
inventory management.
(3) Commercial model refresh
Over a number of years, the Group has experienced gross margin erosion, due to
deteriorating factory economics - both lower production volumes reflecting
weaker consumer markets and significant inflationary pressure, particularly on
energy costs. The combination of improved factory economics, including the
benefit of onshoring production and reduced inventory balances together with
refreshed brand and products, and a focus on full price sales channels (see
point 1 below) will combine to support gross margin rebuild.
(4) Non-core disposals
The Group has a rich heritage in ceramics and homewares and these categories
will be the primary focus for the Group. The Group now considers Wax Lyrical
as non-core, and, in February 2026, has put in place a new MD for the business
to deliver an improved performance ahead of looking to dispose of the
business. This will free up capital tied up in Wax Lyrical and allow the Group
to concentrate on its core product categories where it has leading brands.
FOCUSED EXPANSION
(1) Fresh brand and product
As we embed our brand mindset, we will prioritise and focus on our core Spode
and Portmeirion brands, striving to excite and delight our customers. Under
Victoria Brabender, our new Product Strategy Director, we are refining our
brand positioning, tone of voice and how we communicate our brands.
Alongside this, we are refining our product ranges, implementing more
structured pricing hierarchy and making commercial policy changes around
off-price distribution channels. Our priority is on maximising full price
sales and improving our mix through elevating our craftsmanship and product
quality.
(2) D2C expansion
Our direct-to-consumer distribution is built on our own stores and our own
eCommerce platforms. Expansion of our own store network is not a short-term
priority for the Group. Our investments will focus on significantly increasing
our eCommerce business. During 2026 we will move to a single platform for
our UK and US eCommerce activities, saving costs and improving efficiency.
Our customer acquisition and retention strategies for the year ahead include
loyalty, more exclusive products and renewed brand communications alongside
our updated product offer.
(3) International expansion
Today the Group has scale in three markets - UK, US and South Korea. We have a
huge opportunity in many other markets that the Group operates in today. To
maximise our potential success, we will prioiritise five markets, including
Malaysia, Germany and Australia, for growth in 2026 and beyond. Our
marketing and sales resources will be focused on these markets, ensuring we
partner with the best distribution and build brand awareness and a loyal
customer base.
(4) Capital light licence expansion
The Group has a brand portfolio that is storied and has deep heritage. Many
other brands want to commercialise the potential of our brands and we have a
nascent product licensing business, which accounted for £0.2m revenue in
2025. This high margin, low capital employed business provides a great
opportunity for the Group and is now an integral part of our product strategy
and roadmap. We are in active discussions with a number of high quality
licence partners and expect to deliver several new commercial agreements in
the year ahead, the first of which is a global bedding and towels licence with
Ashley Wilde.
EXCELLENCE EVERYWHERE
(1) Enhanced data
The Group is undertaking a detailed 3-year data roadmap to improve data
quality, create Group-wide aligned master data and improve a broad range of
forecasting and planning tools. Collectively, these actions will improve
decision making and operational efficiency.
(2) Made in Stoke-on-Trent
Our customers value Made in Stoke-on-Trent given our brand heritage and DNA.
As many of our peers have closed production in the UK and moved offshore, we
believe the Group can take advantage of our commitment to production in the
UK. During 2025, we strategically re-shored production of numerous tableware
product lines to Stoke-on-Trent, including one of our most successful ranges,
Spode Christmas Tree range. We are actively working on additional product
lines that will be reintroduced to our Stoke-on-Trent factory and we will
further build specialism and craftmanship in the UK. As we turnaround our
factory economics and more closely align our brand messages around Made in
Stoke-on-Trent, our competitive advantage will be strengthened.
(3) Refreshed leadership team
Over the last 12 months, a series of leadership changes have been made,
bringing deep industry knowledge and expertise into the Group and ensuring
full alignment on our refreshed strategy - Elevating Portmeirion.
Collectively, our refreshed leadership team are bringing a new energy and
intensity to delivering our transformation.
Following nine years on the Board of Portmeirion, including the last seven as
Chief Executive Officer, Mike Raybould has decided to step down as CEO. Mike
has led the Group during a period of significant macro disruption, including
Covid, energy price spikes, high inflation, and US tariffs. Mike has worked
closely with the Board to create and launch the Elevating Portmeirion strategy
and the strengthening of the senior leadership team. Mike hands over the baton
of leading Portmeirion as the Group enters its' next stage of development.
BUSINESS MODEL
CREATIVE DESIGN
Any of our products will fulfil their raw purpose and function brilliantly
well, because they have been manufactured to the highest standards, to be
strong, resilient and durable. But it is our creative design team which makes
the difference, they elevate functional to fabulous, and that's what delights
our customers and keeps our product on the table or on display for decades. A
design, a theme or a style can often be instantly recognised or connected to
one of our brands. Spode is designed to be beautifully bold and Portmeirion is
designed simply to be loved.
Because design is central to our brand proposition, we never outsourced the
creative design process, choosing to keep it in-house, with a team based in
the UK and US. They take inspiration from our own archive and are informed by
fashion and consumer trends, working to an 18-24 month forward product
roadmap. At the time this report is published in Q2 2026, our team are
finalising new designs to be in-store for Christmas 2026 and excited for what
2027 might hold.
Our heritage collections are extended every year and this keeps them front of
mind with customers and collectors. Examples in 2025 include extensions to our
key Spode Christmas range, new variations on our Portmeirion Botanic Garden
range and new Spode Heritage Green Italian range, a new twist on our classic
Blue Italian collection which was first introduced over 200 years ago.
New products are designed and introduced every year, often targeting new and
different demographics in the market. In 2025, we extended our 2024
Portmeirion Minerals tableware collection with new colourways. We launched
several new Nambé collections including a bread making range in collaboration
with Tom Papa. Finally, at the end of 2025, we also launched new cookware
products under our Portmeirion Botanic Garden range, initially for our
important Asian markets. Similarly, our Wax Lyrical England home fragrance
collection, which launched in 2023, continued to gain wider distribution
during the period and will be extended further, with a more premium focus in
2026.
OPERATIONS: ADMINISTRATION, MANUFACTURE, SUPPLY AND LOGISITCS
Our business was founded over 65 years ago in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire,
England, and the city has remained the location of our headquarters, our
tableware factory and warehouse ever since. Stoke-on-Trent has been the global
centre of ceramic design and manufacture since the 1700s, it is our home and
was the birthplace of our Spode and Portmeirion brands. We benefit from the
wonderful skills and talent that have been passed down from generation to
generation. Our US offices are located in New Jersey, Connecticut and New
Mexico, and we have further offices in China, Canada and Germany.
Our Wax Lyrical home fragrance business is based 120 miles north of
Stoke-on-Trent in the Lake District National Park at Ulverston, Cumbria, which
is the location of both its office and factory.
We manufacture c.39% of all the product we sell globally at our two factories
in England and what we do not manufacture ourselves we outsource to
long-standing partner factories that we have worked with for many years, all
to our same exacting quality standards and in compliance with our ethical
codes of conduct. Our ambition is to increase the percentage of product we
make in our Stoke-on-Trent factory over the next 12-24 months.
Our UK warehouses service the UK and international customers and our US
warehouses in Connecticut and New Mexico service the US, Canada and Latin
America.
ROUTES TO MARKET
Our revenue is generated from three routes to market:
Wholesale (national and independent retailers)
Our wholesale channel accounts for 83% of total sales and our customers are
national and independent retailers, or distributors in some markets, who in
turn sell to national and independent retailers.
We support our wholesale customers through the use of wholesale marketing,
online marketing and digital assets to promote the sale of our premium branded
products. Many of our wholesale customers are omni-channel retailers with both
physical stores and online sites.
Own eCommerce
We operate our own eCommerce websites in the US and UK which accounts for 9%
of total sales, offers a higher margin and the opportunity to build closer
relationships with customers and engender long term brand loyalty.
Own Retail
We have five factory outlet stores which trade as Portmeirion Home in the UK
and 7 Nambé stores in New Mexico, US which accounts for 8% of total sales.
In international markets, outside of North America and the UK we have used
distributors which allows access to markets but permits us to limit our
inventory holding locations around the world.
MARKETING
Over the next 3 years we plan to increase capital allocated to brand
marketing, so that we can get behind our premium brands and support their
growth in our three existing established markets (UK, North America &
South Korea) and most critically, to explore and develop new international
markets where our premium brands have no presence and the medium-long term
opportunity is most abundant. Certain of our brands will see c.5-8x increase
in spend from current levels as funds are available.
In 2025, we increased spend with social media influencers in both the UK and
for the first time in Asia, helping to drive greater brand awareness and
supporting new product launches. We increased online customer acquisition
spend in our key seasonal Q4 trading period - and together these actions drove
a significant increase in online Christmas orders.
We developed a huge number of new digital assets for key Spode and Portmeirion
ranges to support and increase conversion levels across all global online
platforms.
We continue to improve and develop our product showroom spaces around the
world. Our Atlanta showroom is becoming an increasingly important asset to
support our strategy of growing the US independents sales channel. New York
remains a key showroom location for us, and we are moving to a more cost
effective showroom during 2026.
Finally, we developed a new brand led stand and returned to the global
Frankfurt Ambiente show in February 2026, after a number years of absence -
successfully engaging with new and existing customers from around the world.
Our brands received a great response at Ambiente, as was the case at the
Atlanta show in January 2026.
STRUCTURE
Our business is controlled centrally from our headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent,
UK, with divisional responsibility in the US and in our home fragrance
operation in Cumbria, UK.
Our Board of Directors and their responsibilities are set out on our website
at www.portmeiriongroup.com. In addition, we have a senior leadership team
comprising leaders of all key functions. This structure of the Board and
senior leadership provides the governance framework for the Group in the
implementation of our strategy and delivery of our business model.
Our Group functions are US and UK based and globally focused. We have senior
leaders in our key regions to ensure we are connected to our customers and can
act quickly. We feel this approach allows a balance of efficiency and
responsiveness to our customer needs, allowing us to maximise opportunities at
a market level.
STAKEHOLDERS
Our business model aims to address the needs of our stakeholders:
For shareholders - to treat every shareholder as an owner, to provide them
with insights which enable them to understand our long-term business model and
appreciate the brands we own, to determine what is important to our future
success and prosperity, and to enable them to make informed investment
decisions. With owners who are aligned to our Brand Mindset and support our
endeavours we can create long term value, build a sustainable profitable and
growing business, with lower risk and increasing capacity for shareholder
returns;
For customers - we strive to produce products which delight our customers and
they can enjoy, that can be used every day or for occasions, a product which
lasts many lifetimes;
For our people and local communities - our focus on social impact and a clear
governance structure are at the heart of our business and core to our brand
DNA. More information is available at
https://www.portmeiriongroup.com/sustainability;
For suppliers - having a positive interaction with suppliers allows us to
deliver higher standards and reduce risk in our supply chain whilst seeking
cost efficiencies and positive environmental outcomes.
For the environment - we strive for operational excellence whilst reducing
environmental impact. More information is available in "Our commitment to ESG"
and "The Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure)
Regulations 2022 Report" on pages 20 to 30 of the Annual Report.
OUR PEOPLE
The beating heart of our Company is our talented people, and our 664
colleagues embody our creativity, professionalism, ambition, focus, passion,
resilience, and determination. Working together they design, develop,
manufacture, sell and work with our customers and suppliers every day. They
have a huge, combined level of experience and skill; they have a passion for
our brands and the products they produce. Such commitment and passion is hard
to replicate.
As a result of the challenges that the business has faced over the last two
years and their subsequent and significant impact on factory volumes, we have
had to take the very difficult decision to reduce our colleague numbers over
the last two years from 868 to 664. We fully recognise the impact that these
decisions will have had on all those affected and I would like to sincerely
thank our teams for their commitment and understanding during this very
difficult time.
CULTURE
Despite the challenges of recent years, we consider ourselves fortunate to
have such committed and loyal people across the world and we thank them for
their continued commitment and hard work.
We value our people and want to make our Company as good a place to work as we
can, a place which is able to attract and retain apprentices every year and
where careers can be built. It is important we keep skills and knowledge
within our business to be passed on.
People are a foundation element of our brand DNA. Our people, not consultants,
defined our values, culture and purpose "inspired by our heritage to craft a
better future" which provides a framework for our decision-making, our
day-to-day behaviours and actions and our guiding principles and our moral
compass.
We promote an open culture through engagement, development and resource
management and we consider ourselves a caring employer with an excellent
health and safety record, fair and balanced equality policies, diversity in
our workforce and management structures and a consultative approach with our
people.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
We report on greenhouse gases, social, community, human rights and gender
diversity in the "Our Commitment to ESG" as part of the Annual Report.
Mike
Raybould
Chief Executive
FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONS VIEW OF THE PERIOD
SUMMARY
o Revenue was in line with last year at £91.1m (2024 £91.2m) and +1% at
constant currency. Excluding the US market, impacted by tariffs, sales +8.6%
at constant currency.
o Headline loss before tax £3.6m (2024: headline profit before tax £1.1m)
chiefly due to the impact from the disruption caused by the US tariffs,
initial margin investment in accelerating our Made in Stoke-on-Trent onshoring
initiative and higher costs, including energy, National Insurance and minimum
wage increases.
o Strong sell through growth on our UK-made Spode 'Christmas Tree' tableware
and on key like-for-like Christmas lines reflects early success of our
onshoring and refreshed product strategy.
o Wax Lyrical our home fragrance business held revenue in line with last
year, a disappointing outcome after a strong first half but remains focused on
sales and profit growth in 2026. However, PBIT increased due to gross margin
improvement.
o We continue to retain close management of costs. Overhead costs increased
by 7.9% (£2.8m), reflecting higher costs such as energy and National
Insurance together with accelerated investment as part of our transformation
plan.
o Cash flow generated from operations +£0.5m (2024: +£2.1m).
o Net debt £17.5m (2024: £12.1m) +£5.4m, due to the operating loss and
higher tariffs in closing US inventory, partially offset by improved working
capital management.
o £2.9m additional write down of inventory, allowing the business to
convert aged and seconds quality inventory to cash in a responsible manner,
protecting price points and volumes.
o As part of our long term energy hedging process, in October 2025 we placed
significant hedges for electricity at 100% of our requirements and gas at 80%
at favourable rates through to 31 March 2027.
o Energy usage down 1.3% on 2024 and 6.4% lower than 2023.
REVENUE
Sales remained constant at £91.1m and +1% at constant currency with our US
market heavily impacted by the tariff disruption. Group sales excluding the US
market +8% including a strong sales rebound in our Korean market from its 2024
low and pleasing growth of 14% in international markets.
NORTH AMERICA (US and Canada) (39% of sales)
North American sales were -7% year-on-year to £36.6m in constant currency
(2024: £39.7m), with the market impacted by the US tariff disruption. In
response, we accelerated the onshoring of manufacture of key Christmas
products and were successful in getting our customers into stock earlier than
last year. We proactively withdrew our Spode brand from key off-price channels
to support the higher price points on UK made ranges and we cancelled
production of some China made seasonal lines due to uncertainty around
tariffs. These actions are long-term positive for our brands in the US market
but reduced sales by 10% in the short term. The majority of our remaining US
customer base grew sales year on year including our independents channel which
was up double digit and remains a key focus for growth in the future.
On a like-for-like basis, most of our customers reported strong sell through
of our Christmas product in Q4 2025, particularly online; in many cases up on
the prior year highlighting that end demand for our well-known brands and
products remains strong.
On a reported basis, PBIT in the US market was 52% lower, nearly all of which
was due to tariff impacted sales however gross margins were largely protected
on a % basis, reducing by 0.7ppts, as we were successful in passing on higher
tariffs through price rises. We took actions in Q4 to reset our cost base and
expect profitability to recover in 2026.
Following the successful sell through of our on-shored production of our Spode
Christmas Tree line, we will continue to focus, where possible, on UK-made
production for the US market working over time, to elevate price and brand
position.
SOUTH KOREA (16% of sales)
South Korea sales grew 26% on a constant currency basis, a strong rebound from
its 2024 low. We continued to support customers with new product ranges and
are on track to clear customer excess inventory (driven by post Covid customer
restocking) in 2027.
Sales continued to grow with our online partner and our Portmeirion brand
remains one of most well-known, respected and searched for brands in the
category.
Late in Q4, we were excited to ship first production runs of our new Botanic
Garden cookware range, a new introduction and this will be on sale in the
market from February 2026.
We will continue to innovate on pattern and shape for this key market and have
a strong roadmap of new product for the next 18 months.
UK (36% of sales)
UK sales were +1% to £32.6m (2024: £32.4m). We saw an improved performance
in the second half of the year in our UK tableware business with growth of 6%,
with strong double-digit growth in our own ecommerce channel.
Wax Lyrical, our home fragrance brand, grew by 2%, a disappointing outcome
after a strong first half performance. We were given less promotional space in
the grocery channel in Q4, which impacted sales in the second half. However,
we retained key national account listings and expect growth to resume in this
division in 2026. We are in advanced stages of development for expansion of
our successful 'Wax Lyrical England' range of candles and diffusers, for new
category launches and are looking to leverage recent successful UK product
launches with new international distributors.
INTERNATIONAL (9% of sales)
Ceramic sales in our international markets grew by 14% to £8.5m on a constant
currency basis, aided by new product innovation including the Q4 launch of a
new Botanic Garden cookware range. We were pleased to see growth across
markets including Malaysia, Australia and Europe. In Malaysia, our Portmeirion
Botanic Garden range continues to gain online and physical retail distribution
and our UK-made heritage ranges and several of our brand license
collaborations continue to resonate strongly across Asian and European
markets. We see a significant opportunity to grow these markets across the
next 3-5 years lead by our Portmeirion and Spode brands.
PROFIT
Headline loss before tax was £3.6m (2024: £1.1m profit). Profit in the year
was impacted by a number of factors including the 8% reduction in sales from
our largest market, the US, short term margin investment in onshoring
production to the UK and cost inflation - including National Insurance,
minimum wage and high energy costs.
We have taken proactive measures in Q4 2025 to reset our US cost base for 2026
and remain focused on cost control across our whole business going forward.
Headline EBITDA of £2.6m (2024: £7.3m). Note 1, Page 1
INTEREST AND FINANCING COSTS
Finance costs for the Group were flat at £2.0m (2024: £2.0m). This included
interest costs of £1.7m (2024 £1.6m).
TAXATION
There was a tax credit for the year of £1.0m (2024: £0.3m). This was mainly
due to a deferred taxation credit of £1.4m (2024: £0.6m) and the current
corporation taxation charge was £0.4m (2024: £0.3m).
DIVIDENDS
No interim dividend was paid in 2025 (2024: £1.50p).
The Board does not recommend payment of a final dividend (2024: £Nil).
The Board has prioritised growth which requires investment in the business,
and to enable this we must strengthen our balance sheet. The resultant
reduction in net debt will reduce the associated interest costs on our Profit
& Loss account, which in 2025 was £1.7m. Savings and growth will provide
the funds that enables us to make judicious investments in the business and
support our premium brands, which is in the long-term best interests of our
shareholders.
The Board is cognisant of the significant percentage of our shares held by
individuals and recognises that dividends are an important contributor to
total shareholder return and shareholder income. We own several incredible
brands which provide us with a significant opportunity to grow sales, profits
and margins over time. But to achieve this requires investment, commitment,
consistency, excellent execution and time. Our objective is to drive towards a
'Fortress Balance Sheet' with a net cash position and pay dividends from a
position of strength and from the earnings of a well invested business.
CASH GENERATED AND NET DEBT
At 31 December 2025, the Group had net debt of £17.5m (comprising cash and
cash equivalents of £6.5m less borrowings of £24.0m). This compares to net
debt of £12.1m at the prior year end. This increase is due to the loss for
the year and the payment of higher tariff costs in the US.
Cash generated from Operations reduced to £0.5m (2023: £2.1m), due to the
full year operating loss. Operating cash flows before movements in working
capital were an inflow of £1.6m (2024: £6.3m inflow).
BANK FACILITIES
During the year, the Group signed a bank facility amendment agreement with our
lending bank, Barclays, replacing the previous EBITDA leverage and interest
cover covenants with Asset Cover and Adjusted EBITDA for the period up to and
including April 2027. This recognised the volatility in trading caused by US
tariffs, which were announced on 2 April 2025, just days after we launched our
two-year Transformation Plan on 31 March 2025. The modified facility carried
an interest margin of 3.0% until September 2026 thereafter dropping back to
the original 1.8% interest margin until the maturity date on 30 April 2027.
Post year-end in April 2026, a further amendment to the facility was agreed
with Barclays to extend the terms of the facility to October 2027, waiving
covenants requirements for March '26 and April '26 together with revised
covenants being in place for the period May '26 to October '27 which align to
the Group forecasts. The revised covenants require monthly compliance
evaluations in respect of 'EBITDA over the last twelve months' ("EBTIDA LTM")
and Asset Cover. There is no change in the interest rates charged over the
extended period.
These facilities are secured by an unlimited debenture from the Group and the
Company and a first charge over the Group's property.
The Group and Company have given a guarantee of up to $900,000 to the landlord
of the premises of Portmeirion Group USA, Inc. located in Connecticut, US. The
fair value of the guarantee and any expected credit loss are considered
immaterial.
At the year end, we worked with Barclays to agree special treatment of the
additional inventory write down to exclude it from EBITDA covenant
calculations, allowing us to focus on the responsibly managed clearance of old
inventory and its conversion to cash. As mentioned earlier, this is a key
focus and we are actively working on and agreeing clearance deals of old,
discontinued and 'seconds quality inventory' in early 2026.
We have appreciated the constructive support of our lenders Barclays in
working with us to provide a revised RCF that is appropriate for our business
in the current macro environment and underpins the continued delivery of our
Transformation Plan.
Our business remains seasonal with a second half weighting of our sales.
Consistent with previous years, we experienced a working capital swing of
£10.5m during the year as we built inventory to match our sales demand. At
the year-end we had available cash of £6.5m and borrowing headroom of £6.0m.
The Group recognises the need to reduce net debt as part of its transformation
plan and we continue to take the appropriate steps to strengthen our Balance
Sheet under our Fortress Balance Sheet priority. The Board is looking at all
options to build Balance Sheet strength.
Recognising the recent trading challenges and associated covenants we are in
the final stages of agreeing a move from our RCF facility to a 5-year ABL
(Asset Backed Lending) facility, a more appropriate debt facility for the
nature of our Group, with a major international bank that allows us to
leverage the working capital within our balance sheet. This facility provides
a headline £36m borrowing capacity (subject to inventory and receivables
levels) and a term loan against property. This has been credit approved by the
bank, and we have now moved into legal documentation.
In addition, there are further steps available to us, to include but not
limited to, a potential sale of our Wax Lyrical Business and possible sale
& leaseback of our Distribution Centre.
ASSETS AND LIABILITES
Excluding the additional inventory write down, we had a net working capital
outflow of £1.1m driven by tight management of all areas (2024: £4.2m
outflow).
In 2025, we made progress in reducing excess and discontinued inventory lines
in both our ceramic and Home Fragrance divisions. In total, volume reductions
were c.£2.5m. These reductions were however offset by the impact of higher
tariffs for importing inventory into the US market, manufacturing inflation
and foreign exchange rates used to translate US inventory values into £
sterling. The US tariff impact on inventory was driven by a number of factors
including the higher tariffs in inventory in the US at 31st December and the
higher manufactured cost of UK made Spode product that was on shored from Asia
during the year.
Recognising the significant level of inventory held in the business including
aged inventory and seconds quality at the end of the year, and following a
detailed review, a £2.9m additional write down of inventory was charged to
the P&L. This allows the business to convert this inventory into cash as
we continue to focus on Fortress Balance Sheet. We will continue to sell this
inventory in a responsible manner that protects our and our customers' price
position and core sales volumes. Early indications from clearance deals closed
with partners in Q1 2026 are positive and we remain focused on bringing the
inventory levels back in line with more suitable levels.
At 31 December 2025, we held 182,633 treasury shares (2024: 210,282) with a
book value of £0.34m (2024: £0.39m) (average price 187 pence) in order to
satisfy employee share option schemes and 234,523 shares (2024: 234,523) with
a book value of £2.72m (average price 1158 pence) are held in The Portmeirion
Employees' Share Trust.
The balance of other intangible assets increased during the year as we
continue to develop our global systems and software including our global
website.
PENSION SCHEME
We made no further contributions to our closed defined benefit pension scheme
in the year due to the accounting surplus which was £3.0m at year-end (2024:
£1.9m). The improved position is a result of better returns on assets than
previously expected and a decrease in the liability value due to a slight
decrease in the discount rate assumption, a decrease in long term inflation
assumptions and new commutation factors partially offset by a change in
mortality assumptions.
TREASURY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
The impact of transactional currency flows on the Group's profit is not
material due to the natural matching of revenue and costs across our global
businesses.
When any anticipated exposure arises, our policy is to use appropriate hedging
instruments to mitigate that risk. We have a robust approach to managing risk
to deliver our strategy.
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTY
The Group is exposed to a number of risks in the markets it operates across.
The Board considers the risks to the business and the adequacy of internal
controls with regard to the risks identified at every Board meeting. It
formally reviews and documents the principal risks to the business at least
annually.
Risk Mitigation Outlook
Economic environment The Group sells into more than 60 countries around the world, although the The Group will continue to monitor sales trends in our major markets around
majority of sales are concentrated into three key markets. We continue to the world and ensure we respond accordingly to any threats or opportunities.
Our sales markets around the world have been impacted by inflationary monitor the impact of global events in these markets and any material impact
pressures and tariffs, with rising energy costs and interest rates reducing on our business. Our international sales team has been tasked with exploring
discretionary consumer spending. further progress beyond the three key markets as set out in the 'Focused
Expansion' in the Annual Report.
This has created a difficult trading environment in our major sales markets.
The Group maintains close relationships with our key customers and suppliers
to identify any signs of financial difficulties in order to prevent or limit
any potential losses. Customer orders and sales trends in major markets are
constantly reviewed to enable early action to be taken in the event of
declining sales.
The Group continues to invest in our online and digital capabilities and
capacity in order to provide an increasingly direct to consumer element for
product fulfilment.
Competitors The Group continues to invest in both its strong brands and new product
development to provide a point of difference, whilst working closely with key
The Group faces strong competition in most of the major markets in which we The risk is managed by ensuring that high quality and innovative products are customers to provide a reliable and timely service.
operate. This presents a risk of losing market share, revenue and profit. brought to market, maintaining strong relationships with key customers and
ensuring the Group is aware of local market conditions, trends and industry-
specific issues and initiatives. This enables the Group to identify and
address any specific matters within the overall business strategy.
We are increasingly working with partners in our key UK and US markets on
direct to consumer fulfilment and ensuring we have the capabilities to meet
required service levels.
People
Skilled senior managers and personnel are essential in order to achieve the Management seeks to ensure that colleagues are appropriately remunerated and The Group remains committed to hiring and retaining key personnel in order for
strategic objectives of the Group. Failure to recruit and retain key staff good performance is recognised and rewarded. Staff are also provided with the business to achieve our strategic objectives.
would present significant operational difficulties for the Group. relevant training for their roles and career progression to improve
motivation.
The Group has a clearly defined recruitment policy which ensures that new
colleagues meet the required standard and experience for each position.
Suppliers
The Group's purchasing activities could expose it to over-reliance in certain The Group both manufactures and sources product from a range of suppliers, The Group continues to closely monitor global supply chains to ensure our flow
key suppliers or markets. which reduces the impact of inflation or disruption in one market or supplier. of products around the world is not disrupted.
The lingering impact of Covid-19 to supply chains has created significant
inflationary cost increases and disruption through additional lead times.
For the manufacturing processes in the UK, the Group ensures that key raw
Suppliers may not reflect the Group's high ethical standards. materials are available from more than one source to ensure continuity and
competitive pricing.
For the sourcing process, suppliers are carefully selected to ensure a
sufficient breadth in supply base.
The Group also ensures that all intellectual property rights are retained and
easily transferable should an alternative supplier be required.
All major suppliers are subject to ethics due diligence.
Financial risk
Financial risk is wide-ranging and covers capital management, credit risk, The Groups approach to risk management and mitigating systems are covered in The Group has sufficient headroom within ongoing borrowing facilities. The
currency risk and liquidity risk. the Financial Risk Management Objectives in the Annual Report. Group also has a strong natural currency hedge and continues to monitor
currency fluctuations.
The risks presented in these areas include the failure to achieve business The Group has headroom within current borrowing facilities.
goals, potential financial loss caused by default, reduction in profit due to
currency fluctuations, insufficient funds to continue trading and going
concern threat.
The Board has a detailed and robust budget review process and assesses
performance, including cash flow and liquidity, as part of regular management
information reviews.
Cyber threats are a key financial risk the Group faces across our global
business.
Regular currency forecasts are reviewed in order to ensure the Group is not
detrimentally impacted by any major exchange rate fluctuations.
We remain vigilant to cyber risks and have a robust framework in place,
including external audit, to ensure our systems are well protected.
Jonathan Hill
Group Finance Director
GOING CONCERN
At 31st December 2025 the Group has a Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) totaling
£30 million with Barclays. Originally agreed on the 30th August 2024, the RCF
agreement was amended on the 24th September 2025 to adjust the covenant
requirements to better reflect the operational cashflows and seasonality of
the business. Post year end, on 28th April 2026, the lender (Barclays) agreed
a waiver of these revised covenant reporting requirements for March 2026 and
April 2026 together with a further revision to the ongoing covenants
compliance requirements from May 2026 onwards.
The amendments in place from May 2026 reflect updated covenant requirements in
respect to EBITDA and Asset Cover. The revised covenants are defined as: The
EBITDA covenant is based on the Group's rolling 12-Month statutory EBITDA, as
disclosed in the Segmental Analysis, and is further adjusted for allowable
costs as defined in the facility agreement. The covenant is assessed against a
threshold amount set out on a monthly basis, in accordance with the terms of
the facility. The Asset Cover Ratio, tested monthly, is defined as the ratio
of specified gross assets, being Inventory, Property, Plant and Equipment, and
Trade Receivables, to net debt at the relevant test date. Net debt is
consistent with the Group's net debt definition disclosed within the Key
Performance Indicators. The available facility remains at £30 million.
The facility term was also extended post year end from April 2027 and now runs
until October 2027. The business activities of the Group, its current
operations and factors likely to affect its future development, performance
and position are set out in the Chairman's Statement and Strategic Report in
the Annual Report. In addition, the annual report includes an analysis of the
Group's financial risk management objectives, details of its financial
instruments and hedging activities and its exposures to credit and liquidity
risk. The Group has a formalised process of monthly budgeting, reporting and
review, and information is provided to the Board of Directors to allow
sufficient review to be performed to enable the Board to ensure the adequacy
of resources available for the Group to achieve its business objectives. The
Group sells into over 60 countries worldwide and has a spread of customers and
sales channels within its major UK and US markets. The Group manufactures
approximately c40% of its products and sources the remainder from a range of
third-party suppliers.
At the year end the Group had net debt of £17.5 million (comprising cash and
cash equivalents of £6.5 million less borrowings of £24.0 million) with
undrawn bank facilities available of £6.0 million. This was an increase in
net debt of £5.4 million since the prior year end.
The Group has prepared cash flow forecasts covering a period of up to 18
months from the date of approval of the financial statements. The base case
reflects the Board-approved 2026 budget, updated for actual trading in January
and February 2026. Trading performance post year end, as set out in the annual
report outlook analysis, has been in line with budget as a result of trading
being in line with expectations. Under the base case scenario, the Group is
forecast to remain compliant with its revised EBITDA and Asset Cover covenants
in place from May 2026 throughout the forecast period with no mitigating
actions required.
A plausible downside scenario has been prepared which incorporates a 7.5%
reduction in revenue versus budget from April 2026 over going concern period.
The plausible downside reflects a more subdued trading environment during the
remainder of 2026 and FY2027 resulting from continued geopolitical and
macro-economic factors that could feasibly impact the Group's core trading
countries. This scenario still reflects an increase in revenue and margin
performance from the 2025 financial year.
Should the Group face the plausible downside scenario as a reality, to avoid
covenant breaches from June 2026 onwards, a number of mitigating measures
would need to be adopted over the coming months to ensure continued compliance
with the EBITDA and Asset Cover covenants. These are measures which in the
Directors view could be adopted at pace and include items such as
non-essential capital expenditure, marketing and warehousing, e-commerce cost
reduction, and international travel. Assuming successful adoption of such
measures the Group would remain within the facility and comply with all
covenant restrictions with the lowest facility headroom being £1.0 million in
September 2026.
A reverse stress test has also been prepared which assumes successful
implementation of cost mitigation outlined above, together with further
restructuring and cost cutting exercises which again, in the Directors view,
could reasonably be brought into action. The reverse stress test indicates
that revenue could decline by approximately 9.5% against the forecast when
applied from April 2026 before facing a breach in the EBITDA and Asset Cover
covenant.
CONCLUSION - GOING CONCERN ASSUMPTION APPROPRIATE
After undertaking a detailed review of the Group's budgets, forecasts and
underlying assumptions, the Directors have concluded that the Group and the
Company have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future. This assessment reflects the Directors' evaluation of
forecast cash flows, expected trading performance, and the availability of the
Group's existing banking facilities, which are required under both the base
case and downside scenarios to ensure sufficient liquidity is maintained.
Based on the current forecasts, the Directors have a reasonable expectation
that the Group will be able to meet its obligations as they fall due for a
period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial
statements. Accordingly, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing the annual report and accounts.
In forming this view, the Directors note that the Group is subject to wider
geopolitical and macro-economic factors as set out in the plausible downside
scenario. In this situation mitigating actions are required to be successfully
implemented to ensure compliance with covenants and to remain within facility
limits. The reverse stress test only allows for 9.5% decline on revenue and
requires further cost saving actions to be undertaken to avoid a covenant
breach. Given these factors the Directors also acknowledge that conditions
outlined in the going concern scenarios represent a material uncertainty which
may cast doubt over the Group's and the Company's ability to continue as a
going concern. These financial statements do not include any adjustments to
the carrying amounts or classification of assets and liabilities that may
arise should the Group or Company be unable to continue in operational
existence.
Peter Tracey
Mike Raybould
Non-Executive Chairman
Chief Executive
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Year to 31 December Year to 31 December
2025 2024 ((1))
£'000 £'000
Revenue 91,063 91,212
Operating costs (95,656) (88,167)
Operating Profit/(Loss) before exceptionals (4,593) 3,045
Exceptional items (730) (1,021)
Operating Profit/(Loss)(1) (5,323) 2,024
Interest income 102 51
Finance costs (2,022) (2,030)
Profit/(Loss) before tax (7,243) 45
Tax 999 299
Profit/(Loss) for the period attributable to equity holders (6,244) 344
Earnings per share
Basic (45.3p) 2.50p
Diluted (45.3p) 2.49p
Dividends proposed and paid per share - 1.50p
((1) )The financial results for the period ended 31 December 2024 have been
re-presented to include exceptional items within Operating loss/(profit). This
is a reclassification in nature only to present exceptional costs within
operating profit bringing the presentation more in line with statutory format
and representing a direct reconciliation to the operating result presented in
the cashflow. The net results of the Group have not changed from that
previously presented.
The results relate to continuing operations (2024: continued operations).
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
For the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Profit/(Loss) for the period attributable to equity holders (6,244) 344
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Deferred tax relating to items that will not be reclassified subsequently to (242) (175)
profit or loss
Remeasurement of net defined benefit pension scheme asset 967 701
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (1,691) 136
Other comprehensive Income/(Loss) for the year (966) 662
Total Comprehensive Income/(Loss) for the year attributable to equity holders (7,210) 1,006
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
31 December 2025
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Goodwill 1,749 1,749
Intangible assets 7,598 7,916
Property, plant and equipment 13,579 14,311
Right-of-use assets 4,472 6,336
Pension scheme surplus 2,965 1,896
Total non-current assets 30,363 32,208
Current assets
Inventories 39,024 38,234
Trade and other receivables 19,092 21,048
Cash and cash equivalents 6,495 10,897
Total current assets 64,611 70,179
94,974 102,387
Total assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (16,091) (13,909)
Current income tax liability (76) (402)
Lease liabilities (1,719) (2,085)
Borrowings (24,000) (23,000)
Total current liabilities (41,886) (39,396)
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liability (1,403) (2,591)
Lease liabilities (3,305) (4,838)
Total non-current liabilities (4,708) (7,429)
(46,594) (46,825)
Total liabilities
Net assets 48,380 55,562
Equity
Called up share capital 710 710
Share premium account 18,344 18,344
Investment in own shares (3,056) (3,108)
Share-based payment reserve 28 114
Translation reserve 697 2,388
Retained earnings 31,657 37,114
Total equity 48,380 55,562
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Share-based payment
Share Investment in own shares reserve
Share premium £'000 £'000 Translation Retained
capital account reserve earnings Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
At 1 January 2024 710 18,344 (3,108) 66 2,252 36,726 54,990
Profit for the year - - - - - 344 344
Other comprehensive income for the year 136 526 662
- - - -
Total comprehensive income for the year
- - - - 136 870 1,006
Dividends paid - - - - - (482) (482)
Increase in share-based payment reserve
- - - 48 - - 48
At 1 January 2025 710 18,344 (3,108) 114 2,388 37,114 55,562
Loss for the year - - - - - (6,244) (6,244)
Other comprehensive income for the year (1,691) 725 (966)
- - - -
Total comprehensive Loss for the year
- - - - (1,691) (5,519) (7,210)
Transfer on exercise or lapse of options
- - 52 (114) - (62) -
Increase in share-based payment reserve
- - - 28 - - 28
At 31 December 2025 710 18,344 (3,056) 28 697 31,657 48,380
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Operating Profit/(Loss) (5,323) 2,024
Adjustments for:
Amortisation of intangible assets 784 730
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 1,241 1,288
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 2,175 2,225
Additional inventories provision (non-cash) 2,952 -
(Profit)/loss on disposal of fixed assets 10 -
Charge/(credit) for share-based payments 29 48
Exchange (gain)/loss (246) (1)
Operating cash flows before movements in working capital 1,622 6,314
(Increase)/decrease in inventories (4,596) (2,278)
Decrease/(increase) in receivables 751 (1,993)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 2,750 48
Cash generated from operations 527 2,091
Interest paid on borrowings (1,678) (1,618)
Interest paid on lease liabilities (344) (412)
Income taxes paid (288) (55)
Net cash (outflow) / inflow from operating activities (1,784) 6
Investing activities
Purchase of intangible assets (784) (1,070)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (574) (569)
Net cash outflow from investing activities (1,358) (1,639)
Financing activities
Equity dividends paid - (482)
Capital element of lease payments (2,507) (2,058)
Drawdown of short term borrowings 1,000 17,192
Repayments of borrowings - (3,000)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities (1,507) 11,240
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (4,648) 10,019
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 10,897 888
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes 246 (10)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 6,495 10,897
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
1. This announcement was approved by the Board of
Directors on 6(th) May 2025.
1.1 The financial information set out above does not constitute the
Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2025 or 2024 but
is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2024 have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2025 will be delivered
following the Company's Annual General Meeting.
1.2 For the year ended 31 December 2025 the Group has prepared its
annual report and accounts in accordance with accounting standards in
conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (International
Financial Reporting Standards).
This financial information has been prepared in accordance with the accounting
policies stated in the Group's financial statements for the year ended 31
December 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, with
the exception of derivative financial instruments which are stated at their
fair value.
1.3 After making enquiries and reviewing budgets and forecasts for
the Group, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and
the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing the annual report and accounts. Further information on
going concern is set out in the Financial Review section above.
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Continued
2. Earnings per share
The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the
following data:
Earnings 2025 Earnings Earnings 2024 Earnings
£'000 Weighted per share £'000 Weighted per share
average (p) average (p)
number of number of
shares shares
Basic Earnings/(Loss) per share (6,244) 13,775,265 (45.3) 344 13,759,282 2.50
Effect of dilutive securities:
employee share options 28,681
- 5,342 - - -
Diluted Earnings/(Loss) per share (6,244) 13,780,607 (45.3) 344 13,787,963 2.49
The calculation of headline basic and diluted earnings per share adjusted for
additional inventory provision and exceptional items and associated tax
benefits is based on the following data:
Earnings 2025 Earnings Earnings 2024 Earnings
£'000 Weighted per share £'000 Weighted per share
average (p) average (p)
number of number of
shares shares
Headline Earnings/(Loss) per share (3,486) 13,775,265 (25.3) 1,106 13,759,282 8.04
Effect of dilutive securities:
employee share options - 5,342 - - 28,681 -
Diluted earnings per share (3,486) 13,780,607 (25.3) 1,106 13,787,963 8.03
The calculation of basic and diluted headline earnings per share is based on
the following data:
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Profit/(Loss) for the period attributable to equity holders (6,244) 344
Add back/(deduct):
Additional inventory provision and exceptional items 3,682 1,021
Tax effect of inventory provision and exceptional items (924) (259)
Headline Earnings/(Loss) incl. tax effect of additional provision and (3,486) 1,106
exceptional cost
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Continued
3. Segmental analysis
The following tables provide an analysis of the Group's revenue by operating
segment and geographical market, irrespective of the origin of the products:
Operating segment 2025 2024
£'000 £'000
55,917 51,487
UK
North America 35,146 39,725
91,063 91,212
Geographical market 2025 2024
£'000 £'000
32,600 32,394
United Kingdom
North America 35,406 39,532
South Korea 14,522 11,817
Rest of the World 8,535 7,469
91,063 91,212
4. Exceptional items
Exceptional items by type are as follows:
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
730 1,021
Restructuring costs
730 1,021
5. Finance costs
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Interest expense 1,678 1,618
Interest on lease liabilities 344 412
2,022 2,030
NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Continued
6. Dividends
The Directors recommend that no final dividend per ordinary share be paid for
2025 (2024: £Nil). The total dividend paid and proposed for the year is £Nil
per share (2024: 1.50p).
7. Reconciliation of earnings before additional
inventory provision, exceptional costs interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation (Headline EBITDA)
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Headline Profit/(Loss) before tax (3,561) 1,066
Add back:
Interest Income (102) (51)
Finance Cost 2,022 2,030
Depreciation 3,416 3,513
Amortisation 784 730
Headline Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation 2,559 7,228
Reconciliation of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA)
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Operating Profit/(Loss) (5,323) 2,024
Add back:
Depreciation 3,416 3,513
Amortisation 784 730
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (1,123) 6,267
8. Post balance sheet events
In April 2026, the Group amended the RCF facility with its lending bank,
Barclays. This extended maturity to October '27, waived covenants for March
'26 and April '26 and revised covenants for June'26 to October '27 in line
with the Group's updated forecasts.
9. Availability of annual report and accounts
The accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 will be posted to
shareholders on or before 11(th) May 2026 and laid before the Company at the
Annual General Meeting on 2(nd) June 2026. Copies will be available from the
Company Secretary at Portmeirion Group PLC, London Road, Stoke-on-Trent,
Staffordshire, ST4 7QQ, or from the website www.portmeiriongroup.com.
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