REG - Portmeirion Group - Trading Update

PortmeirionAnnouncement

12/01/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 1371Y  Portmeirion Group PLC  12 January 2022

12 January 2022

Portmeirion Group PLC (the 'Group')

FY21 Trading Update

Portmeirion Group PLC, the designer, manufacturer and worldwide distributor of
high quality homewares under the Portmeirion, Spode, Royal Worcester,
Pimpernel, Wax Lyrical and Nambé brands, updates on full year trading for
2021.

 

We are pleased to report an excellent Christmas seasonal trading period, with
very high demand for our consumer homeware brands around the world and strong
sell-through across our key channels. We therefore now expect sales to be at
least £104 million or 10% above current consensus market expectation
forecasts for FY21. This is 18% above 2020 sales of £87.9 million and 12%
ahead of pre-Covid sales of £92.8 million in 2019.

 

This represents the highest ever level of sales for the Group driven by strong
progress on our strategy in developing new sales channels, particularly
online.

 

As a result we expect our profit before tax for FY21 will be at least £7.0
million, an increase of 9% over current consensus market expectations and a
multiple increase compared to £1.4 million in 2020.

 

Mike Raybould, Chief Executive commented:

 

"I am delighted with the progress we have made as a business. Our sales result
- approximately 12% above pre-Covid highs - is a real testament to the changes
we are driving through our business and the experience and efforts of our
teams across the world who continue to navigate the many challenges that Covid
still presents. The ongoing execution of our strategy allows us to reach more
customers through investing in and developing online channels, launching new
product and building-out new markets.

 

Although our key seasonal sales period came later than usual due to global
supply chain disruption affecting availability of stock, it finished very
strongly, particularly in the US market. We are becoming an increasingly
digital business and the new capabilities we have built to drop ship online
orders continue to drive our business forward and should provide further
opportunities for strong growth and improve margins in the future.

 

Each of our core markets of the UK, US and South Korea have grown well in
2021. The measures we took to reduce overstocks and protect our brand in South
Korea in 2019/20 have enabled a much more robust year, with strong consumer
demand and expectations of further sustainable growth in coming years.

 

We are mindful of ongoing Covid risks and their potential impact on sales
markets, global supply chains and the associated cost inflation, particularly
in container shipping. We expect further growth in 2022 and with the current
uncertainty will wait to update the market with detail on the outlook for the
current financial year at the time of the preliminary results in March.
Looking forward we continue to navigate these uncertainties and remain
confident in our ability to improve margins over the longer term and grow the
business strongly in the future."

 

We expect to announce the Group's preliminary results for the year ended 31
December 2021 on 17 March 2022.

 

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                     +44 (0) 1782 743443    mraybould@portmeiriongroup.com
 Chief Executive

 David Sproston                    +44 (0) 1782 743443    dsproston@portmeiriongroup.com
 Group Finance Director

 Hudson Sandler:
 Dan de Belder                     +44 (0) 207 796 4133   ddebelder@hudsonsandler.com
 Nick Moore                                               nmoore@hudsonsandler.com

 Panmure Gordon

 (Nominated Adviser and Broker):   +44 (0) 207 886 2500
 Freddy Crossley                   Corporate Finance
 Rupert Dearden                    Corporate Broking

 

 Singer Capital Markets

 (Joint Broker):         +44 (0) 207 496 3000
 Peter Steel             Investment Banking
 Rachel Hayes

 

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