Business
Interim Results
Interim Results.
About this update from Ultimate Products Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n25 March 2025\n\n \nUltimate Products plc\n(\"Ultimate Products\", the \"Company\" or the \"Group\")\n \nINTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025\nContinued focus on strategic priorities amid challenging UK trading conditions\n \nUltimate 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 interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2025 (\"H1 2025\").\n \nFinancial highlights\n· H1 2025 Group revenue of £79.5m, down 6%\no UK revenue down 13% to £50.4m, while International revenue increased 12% to £29.1m\no Weak UK consumer demand and the anticipated impact of lower air fryer sales partially offset by encouraging international sales growth with strong demand from European discounters (+39%), demonstrating the strength and progress of the Group in this core strategic market\no Improving sales trend, with Q2 sales down 2.2% year-on-year, representing an improvement on Q1 sales, which were down 9.3%\n· Gross margin of 23.2% (H1 2024: 26.7%), impacted by £2.0m in additional shipping costs due to elevated freight rates over the summer, which have since normalised\n· Operating costs well controlled, with administrative expenses up just 3% compared to H1 2024\n· Adjusted EBITDA* down 38% to £7.0m (H1 2024: £11.3m), reflecting the operational gearing of reduced sales\n· Statutory profit before tax down 47% to £5.1m (H1 2024: £9.5m), with Adjusted profit before tax* down 46% to £5.2m (H1 2024: £9.6m)\n· Statutory EPS down 48% to 4.2p (H1 2024: 8.2p), with Adjusted EPS* down 48% to 4.3p (H1 2024: 8.3p)\n· Interim dividend per share down 37% to 1.55p (H1 2024: 2.45p) in line with the company policy of returning around 50% of post-tax profits to shareholders through dividends\n· Net bank debt/adjusted EBITDA* ratio of 1.3x (31 July 2024: 0.6x), with the 12-month rolling average ratio at 1.0x (31 July 2024: 0.7x)\n· Cash generation from operating activities of £1.1m (H1 2024: £14.4m), with increased investment in working capital following longer shipping times caused by Red Sea disruption resulting in £9.4m of add...