REG - Ultimate Products - H1 2026 Trading Update and Notice of Results

Ultimate ProductsAnnouncement

Wed 07:00

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RNS Number : 4893S  Ultimate Products PLC  11 February 2026

 

11 February 2026

Ultimate Products plc

("Ultimate Products", "UP" or "the Group")

 

H1 2026 TRADING UPDATE AND NOTICE OF RESULTS

UP proprietary brand sales up 5%, in line with strategic focus

Trading remains in line with market expectations

 

Ultimate Products, the owner of a number of leading homeware brands including
Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, est.1760) and Beldray (est.1872),
announces its trading update for the six months ended 31 January 2026 ("H1
2026").

 

Overview

                                          H1 2026  H1 2025  Change  Change
                                          £m       £m       £m      %
 UP proprietary brands                    65.8     62.6     3.2     5%
 Licensed brands                          5.7      7.5      -1.8    -24%
 Third party clearance & white label      3.0      9.4      -6.4    -68%
 Total revenue                            74.5     79.5     -5.0    -6%

 

Unaudited Group revenues were £74.5m, down 6% (H1 2025: £79.5m), reflecting
continued subdued consumer demand for general merchandise and the anticipated
reduction in non-core third party clearance sales. However, sales of UP brands
rose by 5% in the period to £65.8m, as the Group continues its strategy of
increasing its focus on its own proprietary brands.

 

Adjusted EBITDA* for H1 2026 is expected to be around £5.0m, reflecting the
operational gearing impact of reduced sales.  At the period end, the Group
had net bank debt of £9.7m (31 July 2025: £14.1m), which represents a net
bank debt/ adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.9x (31 July 2025: 1.1x), marginally
below the Group's targeted policy of 1.0x. The rolling 12-month average was
1.4x (31 July 2025:1.3x).

 

Current trading

Current trading remains in line with market expectations. Whilst the market
for general merchandise remained soft over the period, especially in the UK,
the Board is confident that the ongoing investment in the Group's operational
capabilities will strengthen its commercial focus, enabling it to maximise
growth opportunities as macroeconomic conditions improve.

 

Notice of Results

The Group will announce its interim financial results on Tuesday 24 March
2026.

 

 Commenting on the performance, Andrew Gossage, Chief Executive of Ultimate
Products, said:

"Although we continue to operate in a challenging environment, we are pleased
to see the ongoing growth in sales of our own UP brands. These remain a key
differentiator for us, and our strategic focus on them will drive long-term
value creation."

 

*Adjusted measures are stated before share-based payment expense and
non-recurring items

 

A financial summary, including consensus market expectations, is set out below

 

                  FY25 (Actual)  FY26 (Consensus)
 Revenue          £150.1m        £137.7m
 Adjusted EBITDA  £12.5m         £9.9m
 Adjusted EPS     7.4p           5.2p

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Ultimate Products +44 (0) 161 627 1400

Andrew Gossage, CEO

Chris Dent, CFO

 

Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nomad and joint Broker) + 44 (0)20 7220
0500

Matt Goode/ Callum Davidson/ Trisyia Jamaludin (Corporate Finance)

Matt Lewis (Corporate Broking)

 

Shore Capital (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7408 4090

Malachy McEntyre/ Isobel Jones (Corporate Broking)

Mark Percy / David Coaten / Harry Davies-Ball (Corporate Advisory)

 

Sodali & Co +44 (0) 207 250 1446

Rob Greening/ Sam Austrums/ Oliver Banks

 

 

Notes to Editors

Ultimate Products is the owner of a number of leading homeware brands
including Salter (the UK's oldest houseware brand, established in 1760) and
Beldray (a laundry, floor care, heating and cooling brand that was established
in 1872). According to its market research, nearly 80% of UK households own at
least one of the Group's products.

 

Ultimate Products sells to over 300 retailers in over 30 countries - spanning
discounters, supermarkets and general retailers, and ranging from large
national and international multi-channel retailers to smaller retail chains.
Its products are also available on Salter.com (https://salter.com/)
 and Beldray.com (https://beldray.com/) , as well as major third-party
online marketplaces. The Group specialises in five product categories: Small
Domestic Appliances; Housewares; Laundry; Audio; and Heating and Cooling.
Other UP brands include Progress (cookware and bakeware), Kleeneze (laundry
and floorcare), Petra (small domestic appliances) and Intempo (audio).

 

Founded in 1997, Ultimate Products is headquartered in Oldham, Greater
Manchester, where it has design, sales, marketing, buying, quality assurance,
support functions and warehouse facilities across two sites. Manor Mill, the
Group's head office, includes a spectacular 20,000 sq ft showroom that
showcases each of its brands. In addition, the Group has an office and
showroom in Guangzhou, China and Paris, France. Ultimate Products employs over
300 staff and is certified as a Great Place to Work®. A significant number of
its employees joined via the Group's Graduate Development Scheme, one of the
biggest in the North West.

 

Please note that Ultimate Products is not the owner of Russell Hobbs. The
Group currently has licence agreements in place granting it an exclusive
licence to use the "Russell Hobbs" trademark for cookware and laundry (NB this
does not include Russell Hobbs electrical appliances).

 

For further information, please visit https://upplc.com/ (https://upplc.com/)
.

 

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