Portmeirion Group (LON: PMP), the UK-based maker of Portmeirion, Spode and Royal Worcester tableware, reported a wider statutory pre-tax loss of £5.0m for the six months to 30 June, up from £2.9m a year earlier.
Revenue fell 1.9% to £36.4m from £37.1m, as the Group pressed ahead with its “Elevated” turnaround strategy while facing higher wage costs.
Shares in Portmeirion stood at 51p, unchanged from the previous close, as this morning’s results were published before the market opened and have yet to register a reaction.
Headline pre-tax loss, which strips out one-off items, widened to £4.5m from £2.8m, as the Group absorbed the cost of National Insurance and minimum-wage increases and transformation investment. Overheads rose 9.3%, or £1.6m, as a result.
Trading was split by geography. Sales in the United States rose 17%, Malaysia grew 11.0% in constant currency and International sales jumped 37.7%, while South Korea sales fell 16.9% after tighter credit controls and elevated inventory in that market, and the UK also weakened. Core tableware sales rose 4.1%, with the Spode brand up 22.5%, though the non-core Wax Lyrical candle business fell 18% on supplier problems.
The balance sheet saw the bigger shift. Portmeirion completed a £17.2m net equity raise in June, alongside a new £36m asset-based lending facility with Bank Leumi that replaced its previous Barclays revolving credit facility, and received 98% of a $3.0m US tariff refund claim. Net debt fell to £6.2m at the end of June, down from £17.5m at the end of 2025 and £14.8m a year earlier.
No interim dividend was declared, continuing the position from a year earlier, as new chief executive Michael Scheepers, appointed on 11 May, prioritises reinvestment in the turnaround. The plan centres on three “hero” brands, entry into Türkiye, a planned 2027 relaunch of Royal Worcester, and a proposed corporate rename to Spode Group PLC.
We are delivering against the key milestones set out in our revised ‘Elevated’ growth strategy at the equity raise completed earlier in the period.
Michael Scheepers, Chief Executive, Portmeirion Group PLC
Management has guided to a return to growth in 2027, leaving the recovery case resting on whether the UK and South Korean businesses stabilise before then.