UK's RS Group FY revenue and adjusted operating profit slightly beat estimates

RS

20/05/2026 07:08

Overview

UK industrial distributor's full-yr revenue was flat, slightly beating analyst expectations

Adjusted operating profit and pretax profit for the yr both topped analyst expectations

Company launched £100 mln share buyback programme

Outlook

RS Group expects improving momentum in 2026/27 as most major markets return to growth

Company remains mindful of geopolitical risks and their potential impact on supply chains

RS Group targets revenue growth at twice the market, mid-teen margins, cash conversion over 80%

Result Drivers

GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT - Gross margin increased 0.6 percentage points to 43.4%, driven by pricing optimisation and stronger growth in higher-margin product categories

COST SAVINGS - £17 mln in restructuring and integration benefits delivered, helping offset cost inflation and investment

GROWTH ACCELERATORS - RS PRO and services and solutions outperformed, with RS PRO revenue up 5% and services and solutions up 6% like-for-like

Company press release: ID:nRST9851Ea

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
FY Revenue
Slight Beat*
GBP 2.88 bln
GBP 2.87 bln (16 Analysts)
FY Adjusted Operating Profit
Slight Beat*
GBP 265 mln
GBP 262.77 mln (15 Analysts)
FY Adjusted Pretax Profit
Beat
GBP 246 mln
GBP 239.95 mln (14 Analysts)
FY Adjusted Operating Margin
9.20%
FY EBIT
GBP 239 mln
FY Pretax Profit
GBP 220 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 12 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the industrial machinery & equipment peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for RS Group PLC is GBp700.00, about 16.6% above its May 19 closing price of GBp600.50

The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 15 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)