REG - Trifast PLC - Trading Statement

TrifastAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 2934C  Trifast PLC  29 April 2026

 

 

 

 

 

29 April  2026

TRIFAST PLC

FY26 Trading Update & Notice of Results

-          FY26 underlying EBIT expected to be in line with market
expectations

-          Further EBIT margin enhancement and on track to deliver
EBIT margins > 10% in medium term

-          Strong working capital discipline continues to generate
cash and deliver leverage <1x

Trifast plc ("Trifast" or the "Group," LSE: TRI.L), the international
specialist in the design, engineering, manufacture, and distribution of
high‑quality engineered fastenings, today announces a Trading Update for the
year ended 31 March 2026 ("FY26"), ahead of the publication of its final
results in July.

Trading Update

The Group expects to report FY26 underlying EBIT of c.£16.0m, in line with
market expectations1, reflecting continued margin improvement from delivery of
our strategic self‑help initiatives, against a challenging macroeconomic and
geopolitical backdrop.

Revenues for FY26 declined by approximately 7.0% year‑on‑year, to
c.£207.0m, driven primarily by lower volumes and exit of low margin
customers. This reflects subdued demand in a number of markets, caused by
tariff disruption as well as ongoing weakness in the automotive sector.
Despite this challenging backdrop, the Group has improved gross profit margins
by a further c.150bps, to c.30%, alongside operational improvements in both
productivity and cost efficiency.

Group EBIT margins are expected to improve to approximately 7.8% (2025: 6.7%)
reflecting the ongoing impact of self‑help actions, including inventory
discipline and the sale of excess and obsolete stock.

The Group's balance sheet remains robust with leverage remaining below 1.0x,
supported by disciplined cash management and a continued focus on working
capital.

As part of the Group's Recover, Rebuild, Resilience strategy, the Board has
been reviewing the suitability of its global manufacturing footprint and has
taken the decision to close its manufacturing operations in Malaysia.

Manufacturing footprint optimisation

The optimisation of the footprint will include retention of a sales and
distribution hub in Malaysia, with the intention over time to develop a shared
services capability, leveraging the model successfully established in Hungary.

The closure will reduce fixed costs, simplify the footprint in Asia and the
positive mix impact will accelerate progress towards our returns target. It
will also allow management focus and capital to be redeployed towards higher
growth regions, including China and India, where momentum, particularly in
India, is increasingly evident.

Outlook

The Group continues to monitor the direct and indirect impacts of geopolitical
developments, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran, and the
associated effects on regional customer activity and supply chains. In
particular, a customer operating in Saudi Arabia has experienced disruption as
a result of the current environment, which is expected to adversely affect
revenues in the region.

The Group has developed an increasingly agile operating model to respond
effectively to external shocks and has demonstrated its ability to manage
costs within its control over the past few years of volatile trading
conditions. Any increased costs will be addressed through a combination of
pricing and operational measures, in line with the Group's established
commercial discipline.

The Group's diversified footprint, broad supplier base and pricing capability
provide resilience in managing volatility as well as supporting its
competitive advantage in service delivery. Having worked hard to refine the
commercial approach and focus on target markets, it is encouraging that the
Group is seeing its strongest commercial pipeline in the last two years, as
customers place increased emphasis on supply chain and engineered solutions,
quality of service, reliability, and continuity.

As a result of the closure of the Malaysian manufacturing operation and
on-going conflicts in the Middle East, FY27 revenue will be reduced by
c.£8.0m.

 

Iain Percival, CEO of Trifast, said:

"FY26 reflects continued progress in strengthening the business, with clear
structural margin improvement despite weaker volumes, particularly in
automotive.

After a considered review of our footprint, we have taken the decision to exit
manufacturing in Malaysia from April 2026. This is a positive step that
optimises the business, retaining local market commercial capability whilst
accelerating progress on margins and return on capital.

While the external environment remains challenging, we are encouraged by our
strongest commercial pipeline for two years, as customers in our focus markets
place increased emphasis on quality of service and reliability. We remain
confident in our medium‑term prospects and >10% EBIT margin target driven
by the continued successful delivery of our Recover, Rebuild, Resilience
strategy."

Notice of FY26 Annual Results

The Group expects to announce its FY26 Annual Results on 2 July 2026.

 

Notes:

1 Consensus forecasts for FY26 prior to this announcement were revenue of
£214.0m, underlying EBIT of £16.0m. Consensus is calculated

 by reference to the average of the estimates published by three analysts.

 

 Enquiries please contact:
 Trifast plc
 Iain Percival, Chief Executive Officer
 Kate Ferguson, Chief Financial Officer

 Christopher Morgan, Company Secretary
 Office: +44 (0) 1825 747630
 Email: corporate.enquiries@trifast.com
 (mailto:corporate.enquiries@trifast.com)
 Shareholders: companysecretariat@trifast.com
 (mailto:companysecretariat@trifast.com)

 Peel Hunt LLP (Stockbroker & financial adviser)
 Mike Bell
 Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 8900

 

 

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