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RNS Number : 0094G  Zotefoams PLC  04 November 2025

Zotefoams plc

("Zotefoams" or "Group")

 

Trading Update

"Continued good strategic progress - trading in line with expectations"

4 November 2025 - Zotefoams, a world leader in supercritical foams, today
provides a trading update for the three months ended 30 September 2025 ("Q3"
or the "period") and in respect of its financial year ending 31 December 2025.

The Group has sustained its positive trading momentum during the period,
delivering a performance in line with the Board's expectations.

Following a record first half, the Group achieved Q3 reported revenue of
£38.2m (Q3 2024: £39.7m), which was in line with a very strong prior year
comparator on a constant currency basis:

 ·   EMEA revenue in Q3 reduced 1% with the anticipated moderation and seasonality
     in Consumer & Lifestyle largely offset by ongoing strong demand in
     Transport & Smart Technologies, as well as growth in the Construction
     & Other Industrial insulation business.
 ·   North America revenue in Q3 was down 16%, following a strong H1, largely due
     to phasing of orders in Transport & Smart Technologies, and more subdued
     demand in Construction & Other Industrial.
 ·   The Asia region, though currently representing a small portion of revenue at
     £1.1m, saw good growth in the period and remains strategically important as
     the Group continues preparations for operations in Vietnam, a key market for
     the Consumer & Lifestyle vertical.

On a year-to-date basis, Group reported revenue is up 5% to £115.7m (YTD
2024: £110.7m), and up 7% on a constant currency basis:

 ·   Year-to-date EMEA revenue was up 7%. Within this Consumer & Lifestyle was
     up 7%, driven by strong demand from Nike in the first half of the year to
     support strategic stocking in advance of planned product launches.
     Construction & Other Industrial was up 15%, with ongoing demand in the UK
     market and stronger demand for insulation in Q3. Transport & Smart
     Technologies was up 4%, reflecting sustained momentum in our target sectors.
 ·   Year-to-date North America revenue was in line with the prior year, with good
     growth in Transport & Smart Technologies, up 16%, reflecting success in
     aerospace and specialty packaging. This was offset by lower demand in
     Construction & Other Industrial, down 12%, reflecting demand headwinds as
     well as repositioning of our channel partners.
 ·   In Asia, our smallest region by sales, year-to-date performance has been
     driven by our T-FIT® insulation business, which is up 5%, offset by the
     non-repeat of several larger one-off sales in Transport & Smart
     Technologies in the prior year

Year-to-date Gross margin reflects the sales profile and is in line with the
prior year, with the benefit of the revenue growth and the closure of MELs
operating activities.

The balance sheet remains strong with good cashflow from operations reflecting
our ongoing focus on working capital and leverage of 0.5x (Q3 2024 0.9x).

Strategy progress:

The Group has continued to make excellent progress on its strategic
initiatives during Q3:

 ·   Brandon Thomas was appointed as Managing Director, Asia - bringing extensive
     technical and commercial experience from his role as General Manager, Asia at
     Nike, where he established their Air Manufacturing Innovation facility in
     Vietnam.
 ·   In August, the Group announced its partnership with Seoheung Co. Ltd. a
     footwear supply chain specialist, through a joint venture for the Vietnam
     manufacturing facility. Seoheung is investing $10m for a 17.5% stake,
     significantly de-risking this investment from both financial and technical
     perspectives.
 ·   The Group signed a lease in South Korea for the new footwear innovation hub,
     which will further strengthen Zotefoams' capabilities and customer
     relationships in the athletic footwear market.
 ·   The Group committed to the establishment of a global innovation centre at its
     Croydon facility, which will form a platform into which R&D capabilities
     can be consolidated to accelerate product development across all three market
     verticals.
 ·   The development of the Group's new manufacturing facility in Vietnam continues
     as planned, with commissioning expected in Q4 2026. This facility will
     position the Group significantly closer to a key global footwear manufacturing
     hub.
 ·   In North America, the second low-pressure vessel was successfully
     commissioned, providing enhanced capacity to support future growth in the
     region.
 ·   In December 2024, Zotefoams paused investment in its ReZorce(®) circular
     packaging technology. As a result, Zotefoams has not committed further
     financial investment or resource to the development of ReZorce and has no
     plans to do so. The Group has remained open to enabling interested parties to
     complete the development and achieve commercialisation of the technology. A
     consortium of investors, including the former Zotefoams business lead for
     ReZorce, has formed a company called ReZorce Limited, with no ties to
     Zotefoams plc, to explore this opportunity.  Zotefoams has assigned certain
     intellectual property rights to ReZorce Limited, while retaining control over
     the IP until commercialisation, and supported them in the decommissioning of
     the asset in Denmark and transporting it to their preferred destination. The
     Group does not expect to receive any consideration for this, nor provide any
     ongoing financial assistance to the consortium, but has retained the right to
     receive a cost-free minority stake in the business should it succeed.

Outlook

The Board is confident in the Group's ability to sustain positive momentum,
with good visibility of confirmed orders across most business units for the
remainder of the final quarter, underpinning a continued expectation of
delivering mid-single-digit growth for the year as a whole.

Based on current sales forecasts and foreign exchange rates, and subject to
there being no material disruption to key markets, the Board expects revenue
and adjusted profit before tax for 2025 to be in line with current market
expectations*.

Commenting on the update Ronan Cox, Group CEO of Zotefoams, said:

"In what remain mixed market conditions, I am pleased that the business has
continued to trade in line with our expectations, whilst also making good
progress with our refreshed strategy.

Our commercial transformation into market-focused verticals continues to
progress well, with our pipeline of opportunities growing across all three
sectors.

The strategic progress we have made this year has been exceptional. Our
partnership with Seoheung in Vietnam, the appointment of Brandon Thomas to
lead our Asian operations, the signing of our South Korea footwear innovation
hub lease, and the plan for the establishment our Croydon innovation centre
all demonstrate our commitment to positioning Zotefoams for long-term
sustainable growth. These investments in capability, capacity, and customer
proximity are already strengthening our relationships with key partners and
expanding our market opportunities.

Looking ahead, our order book provides good visibility for the remainder of
2025 and as a result, the Board remains confident in its ability to meet
market expectations for the full year."

* Current Zotefoams-compiled consensus expectations for revenue is £154.4m
and adjusted profit before income tax and separately disclosed items, for the
year ending 31 December 2025, is £20.5m.

 

- Ends -

 

 

Enquiries:

 

 Zotefoams plc            +44 (0) 208 664 1600

 Ronan Cox, Group CEO

 Nick Wright, Group CFO

 IFC Advisory             +44 (0) 203 934 6630

 Graham Herring

 Tim Metcalfe

 Zach Cohen

 

About Zotefoams plc

Zotefoams plc (LSE - ZTF) is a world leader in supercritical fluid foam
technology, delivering optimal material solutions for the benefit of society.
Utilising a variety of unique manufacturing processes, including
environmentally friendly nitrogen expansion for lightweight AZOTE(®) and
ZOTEK(®) high-performance foams, Zotefoams sells to diverse markets worldwide
across three market verticals, Consumer & Lifestyle, Transport & Smart
Technologies, and Construction & Other Industrial. Zotefoams uses its own
materials to manufacture T-FIT(®) advanced insulation for demanding
industrial markets.

Zotefoams is headquartered in Croydon, UK, with additional manufacturing sites
in Kentucky, USA and Brzeg, Poland (foam manufacture), and foam products
conversion in Oklahoma, USA and Jiangsu Province, China (T-FIT).

AZOTE(®), ZOTEK(®), and T-FIT(®) are registered trademarks of Zotefoams
plc.

www.zotefoams.com (http://www.zotefoams.com/)

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