Portmeirion FY results to beat expectations after strong H2

Royal Worcester and Spode owner Portmeirion said on Thursday that full-year net profit will be ahead of market expectations, with revenues at least 6% higher than consensus following a strong second half and seasonal sales performance.

Revenue for the year to the end of December 2020 will be at least £87m, it said, down from £92.8m in 2019 and as a result, it expects to be able to report a net profit ahead of market views.

The company, which also owns the Wax Lyrical, Nambé and Pimpernel brands, said that as previously reported, its sales have been impacted by the lockdown closures of stores in its key retail markets.

Second half sales were down 7% on a like-for-like basis compared to 2019, representing a continued trend of improving sales for its homeware brands. This compared favourably to the 20% reduction seen in the first half of 2020, it said.

Meanwhile, sales growth from the online segment remains a key area of strategic focus and investment, with online sales performing "strongly" through the second half.

Portmeirion estimated that 47% of its total UK/US sales are now made through online channels, up from 30% in 3019, with sales from its own ecommerce platforms up 60% from the previous year and now accounting for 13% of total group sales. "We expect to see continued growth in online sales channels in 2021," it said.

Chief executive Mike Raybould said: "Although 2020 has been a challenging year and our sales markets have been significantly impacted by Covid-19, we are hugely encouraged by the resilience of our brands and most recently our strong seasonal sales performance.

"We have taken a long term view through 2020 and increased investment spend behind our key strategic objectives; in particular online sales channel development and the efficiency and capabilities of our factories and warehouses. We believe this will accelerate growth in future years. We have an exciting pipeline of new products to launch around the world in 2021 which we expect will contribute to sales growth across our key sales markets."

At 1215 GMT, the shares were up 7.7% at 538.25p.