Norcros plc (LON:NXR), the number one branded bathroom products business in the UK and Ireland, has announced its interim results for the 27 weeks ended 5 October 2025.
Financial summary
| 27 weeks ended 5 October 2025 | 26 weeks ended 29 September 2024 as restated1 | % change FY26 v FY25 | |
| Revenue | £184.3m | £181.9m | +1.3% |
| Revenue constant currency (CC) LFL2 | +0.8% | ||
| Underlying operating profit3 | £21.9m | £20.4m | +7.4% |
| Underlying operating margin | 11.9% | 11.2% | +70bps |
| Underlying profit before taxation3 | £18.7m | £17.1m | +9.4% |
| Diluted underlying EPS3 | 16.2p | 14.6p | +11.0% |
| Operating profit/(loss) | £14.3m | (£7.9m)5 | |
| Net debt4 | (£30.7m) | (£44.9m) | |
| Interim dividend per share | 3.7p | 3.5p | +0.2p |
| Cash conversion | 107% | 69% |
Highlights
· Underlying operating profit up 7.4% to £21.9m (2024: £20.4m)
· Market share gains driving 0.8% LFL CC revenue growth
· After a slower start, LFL CC Group revenue was +2.8% for the last 18 weeks of the period
· Operating margins up 70bps to 11.9% with UK H1 operating margin improved +120bps to 14.8%
· Underlying profit before tax up 9.4% to £18.7m (2024: £17.1m)
· EPS (diluted and underlying) up 11.0% to 16.2p (2024: £14.6p)
· Underlying return on capital employed (ROCE) up 150bps to 18.1%
· Interim dividend increased by 0.2p to 3.7p per share
· Excellent cash conversion of 107% – leverage at 0.6x underlying EBITDA at the period end6
· Significant strategic progress:
o Portfolio Development
– Acquisition of Fibo Holding AS (“Fibo”) in Norway, completed shortly after the period end, strategically compelling and materially earnings accretive in the first full year of ownership
– Successful closure of Johnson Tiles SA manufacturing at the end of June completes the exit of the Group’s tile manufacturing operations
o Organic Growth – cross-selling, new products and service levels driving share gains
o Operational Excellence – scale and targeted investment driving efficiency gains
o ESG – ahead of 2028 SBTI plan (33% targeted reduction in carbon emissions)
Outlook
· The Board expects full year underlying operating profit to be in line with the revised market expectations7, following the acquisition of Fibo, and for the Group to make further progress towards our medium term strategic targets
Thomas Willcocks, CEO, commented:
“Norcros has again demonstrated the strength and resilience of our design led, branded bathroom products model. In a weak market we have delivered a good first half trading performance, with our strategic initiatives delivering further market share and operating margin progression.
During the first half we completed the exit of the Group’s tile manufacturing activities, following the closure of Johnson Tiles SA manufacturing, and shortly after the period end, we completed the materially earnings accretive acquisition of the Fibo business in Norway. These steps are significant milestones towards becoming a higher growth, capital-light, market-leading bathroom business.
The Board remains confident that our leading brands, strong financial position and strategic delivery will continue to strengthen the Group’s positioning and deliver market share and operating margin gains. We expect full year underlying operating profit to be in line with revised market expectations6, following the acquisition of Fibo, and which show continued progress towards our medium-term strategic targets.”
There will be an in-person presentation and Q&A session today at 9.30am GMT for analysts at the offices of Hudson Sandler, 25 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6AE. There will also be a live audio webcast of the event (without Q&A), available at https://brrmedia.news/NXR_IR_26
The supporting slides and webcast playback will be available in the investors section of the Norcros website at www.norcros.com later in the day.
1 Discontinued Johnson Tiles SA is not included in the income statement in either the current or prior year figures, which is consistent throughout this release
2 LFL (like for like) adjusted from a 27 to 26 week period pro-rating and Johnson Tiles UK which was sold in the prior year
3 Definitions and reconciliations of alternative performance measures are provided in note 3
4 Net debt is on an underlying basis and is the net of cash, capitalised costs of raising finance and total borrowings. IFRS 16 lease commitments are not included
5 The operating loss in the prior period is post the non-cash cost of £21.4m relating to the disposal of Johnson Tiles UK
6 Post the period end and acquisition of Fibo, proforma leverage is expected to be c.1.6x
7 Norcros compiled analyst forecast consensus for underlying operating profit for the year to 5 April 2026, as at 20 November 2025, is £47.2m to £48.7m
OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
Group Financial Summary
The Board is pleased to report a good performance for the 27 weeks ended 5 October 2025, underpinned by the strength of our market-leading brands, their positioning in the more resilient mid-premium market, and continued strategic execution. The Group again delivered market share gains and margin progression despite the weak demand environment.
Group revenue for the period was £184.3m (2024: £181.9m), with underlying operating profit of £21.9m (2024: £20.4m). Group operating margins were 11.9% (2024: 11.2%). Cash conversion remained strong at 107% of underlying EBITDA, and ROCE increased by 1.5% to 18.1%.
In our core UK&I business, like-for-like revenue growth of 0.8% was achieved, after adjusting for the extra week in FY26 H1 and Johnson Tiles UK which was sold in the prior year. Reported revenue was £132.9m (2024: £131.3m), with improved underlying operating profit of £19.7m (2024: £17.8m) and operating margin at 14.8% (2024: 13.6%). Our market-leading brands, particularly Triton, Merlyn and Grant Westfield, have delivered a strong first half with well received new product launches, successful cross-selling initiatives and exceptional customer service.
In South Africa, revenue from our continuing businesses was £51.4m (2024: £50.6m), up 4.9% on a constant currency basis. In another significant strategic step towards our capital light business model, Johnson Tiles SA was successfully closed in the period in a well-managed process. We would like to note the professionalism and commitment of the Johnson Tiles SA team before and after this difficult announcement. Whilst consumer sentiment remains subdued and any market recovery is expected to be slow, the remaining Norcros South Africa businesses have shown resilience, including another strong performance from TAL.
The Group’s overall performance reflects the strength of our brands and the benefits of our scale. Our differentiated model, focused on design-led, sustainable products, continues to deliver market share growth. Together with our strong balance sheet and strategic momentum, we remain confident in our ability to make further progress towards our published medium term targets in what remain large, attractive and fragmented markets.
Strategic progress
Significant progress has been made across the Group’s four strategic initiatives in the period, and we are well placed to build on that momentum in the second half of the year.
Portfolio development – We were delighted to complete the acquisition of Fibo (Norway) just after the period end. Together with the closure of Johnson Tiles SA manufacturing in the period, this marked two material strategic steps, strengthening the quality and growth potential of our increasingly capital light portfolio. We have a well-developed M&A pipeline and we continue to evaluate a number of strategically aligned opportunities that would accelerate our growth.
Organic growth – The Group continues to deliver good organic growth, underpinned by a disciplined and sustainability focused new product development pipeline, collaborative cross-selling, and further improvements to our strong customer service offer driven by our investment in our operations network. Our collaborative approach across businesses, that leverages the sum of our parts, continues to unlock revenue synergies and margin improvement.
The acquisition of Fibo augments the Group’s organic growth potential. In the medium term, we see significant opportunity to drive cross-selling of Fibo in the UK and Ireland and with our existing brands in Scandinavia and Central Europe. The early phase of our integration process is progressing well.
Operational Excellence – Operational efficiencies across the Group have been driven by a disciplined focus on process improvement, automation, and cost management. The business has delivered gains through infrastructure upgrades and careful range rationalisation, with the prior year warehousing consolidation projects now delivering tangible results.
Group-wide collaboration continues to drive scale-based benefits, particularly in procurement and freight, helping to support our excellent service levels and driving market share and margin gains. Enhanced data-driven decision making and continuous improvement initiatives are underpinning further advances in service levels.
ESG – We view sustainability as a catalyst for resilience and long-term value and competitive advantage. Our core priorities centre around people, product and planet, forming the foundation of both our strategic direction and day-to-day operations. As outlined in our 2025 Annual Report, and our first Sustainability Report, our core ESG priorities, centred around our people, product, and planet, form the foundation of both our strategic direction and day-to-day operations. We’ve maintained strong progress across these areas in the first half of the year, and our ESG performance continues to play a critical role in influencing purchasing decisions among our major customers.
We are particularly proud of the quality of our team and their engagement and contribution as we continue to build Norcros. Norcros has a strong and progressive culture centred on starting from a place of doing good, using our group wide keys of care, courage, connection and common sense. A highlight was receiving our Great Place to Work certification for all business units and regions shortly after the period end.
We take our responsibility to the communities that we live and work in seriously. We have 2028 SBTi validated targets, that we will deliver early, helped in no small part by exiting the carbon intensive tile manufacturing sector. We remain committed to our longer term 2040 Net Zero targets (in line with the Transition Plan Taskforce guidelines). The best part of our alignment here is that we are growing share and margins by doing what is right.
Norcros UK & Ireland operating review
Our core UK&I business delivered another strong first half with reported revenue of £132.9m (2024: £131.3m), which was 1.2% higher than the prior year, reflecting a resilient performance across our market-leading brands, despite ongoing market challenges.
Like for like revenue growth of +0.8% was supported by continued market share gains, successful new product launches, and outstanding customer service, particularly in the mid-premium RMI segment, which remains a more resilient part of the market.
The Group’s focus on innovation and sustainability was evident in the launch of Triton’s ENLight range and expansion of Grant Westfield’s Naturepanel range, both of which have been well received, winning awards, and driving momentum in their respective categories. This helped both businesses deliver record first half performances which was especially noteworthy for Triton in its 50th anniversary year. Vado also successfully launched its third full bathroom range in the period, growing share and demonstrating the Group’s ability to enter new categories organically.
Operational performance was further enhanced by targeted investments in warehousing, automation, and process improvements, resulting in improved stock availability, service levels, and cost control while also facilitating new product launches. Of particular note, Merlyn has experienced strong retail sales, supported by continued exceptional customer service while Grant Westfield has benefitting from operational improvements and the early success of cross-selling initiatives.
The RMI sector remains the largest component in our UK market at c. 75%-80% of demand. Whilst the timing of the new house build market recovery remains unclear, our market-leading brands are positioned in the mid-premium segment which has remained more resilient in the period, and we are well-placed to benefit in both segments when the market recovers.
Overall, this positive trading and operational momentum resulted in an increase in underlying operating profit for the period of £1.9m to £19.7m (2024: £17.8m). This saw further progression in our operating margin which increased to 14.8% (2024: 13.6%). Our margin progress over the last number of years is testament to our strategic focus and delivery and we expect to make further progress over the remainder of the year.
Norcros SA operating review
Our continuing South African businesses generated revenue of £51.4m (2024: £50.6m), reflecting a 0.8% increase on a constant currency, like for like basis and a resilient overall performance in the period despite challenging macroeconomic conditions in the region. Underlying operating profit for the period was £2.2m (2024: £2.6m), with operating margin at 4.3% (2024: 5.1%). Norcros South Africa remains well managed by a longstanding and experienced management team.
TAL, our market-leading adhesive business in South Africa, delivered another strong performance through innovation in both core and adjacent categories, and by leveraging new product launches and exceptional service levels to gain share in key channels. Tile Africa has recovered from a sluggish start to the year with self-help initiatives expected to start delivering in the new year, albeit conditions remain challenging with consumer confidence subdued. House of Plumbing performance was behind the prior year due to its material exposure to the under pressure residential development and large commercial new build segments.
All three businesses have made robust progress on the new product development front, with the standouts being the Abode store-within-a-store rollout in Tile Africa, and TAL’s focused growth into the cleaning and sealing market. As with the rest of the Group, sustainability is an increasingly core driver in product development but also in terms of our day-to-day operations, with c. 90% of our Tile Africa and House of Plumbing stores expected to have solar installations by year end. This increased use of sustainable energy is helping to reduce our energy costs, again showing that ESG initiatives are just common sense.
Acquisition of Fibo Holding AS
Further to the announcement on 15 July 2025, the Group was pleased to confirm that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) formally issued unconditional clearance in relation to the acquisition of Fibo, a leading supplier of high quality waterproof decorative wall panels based in Norway (the “Acquisition”), and the acquisition completed on 13 October 2025 (after the half-year period).
Transaction highlights:
· The Acquisition brings another market leading brand into the Group and will create a leading presence in the waterproof wall coverings markets across the UK&I, Scandinavia and Central Europe. Waterproof decorative wall panels are an attractive, high-growth market segment where the Company already has existing operations in the UK&I through Grant Westfield (acquired in 2022).
· For the financial year ended 31 December 2024, the Fibo group reported net sales of NOK 856m (c. £65m) and EBITDA (post IFRS 16) of NOK 115m (c. £8.7m), with c. 70% sales from mainland Europe (with key positions in Scandinavia and Central Europe) and c. 30% from the UK.
· Once integrated under Norcros’ ownership, we expect Fibo, under the current experienced management team, to benefit from our proven scale-based growth accelerators and operational efficiencies, augmenting Fibo’s strong geographic growth plan.
· Aligned with our strategy to expand geographically, Fibo will also provide an important platform from which to grow our mid-premium brands across the region.
· The Acquisition will be materially earnings accretive in the first full year of ownership. The acquired business has traded strongly through 2025, with year-to-date results delivering revenue and profit growth on the prior year.
Transaction structure and financing
· Enterprise value of £46m (NOK 618m).
· The Acquisition was financed using the Group’s existing £130m revolving credit facility.
· There will be a long-term incentive and retention scheme for key Fibo management of up to £3.5m.
We are delighted to welcome all our new colleagues at Fibo to the Norcros Group.
Financial summary
Group revenue for the 27-week first half was £184.3m (2024: £181.9m), 1.3% ahead on a reported basis and 0.8% ahead the prior year on a constant currency like for like basis.
Underlying operating profit was £21.9m (2024: £20.4m), largely reflecting the higher revenue and enhanced margins. The Group’s underlying operating profit margin was ahead of the prior year at 11.9% (2024: 11.2%).
The reported operating profit was £14.3m (2024: loss of (£7.9m) after deducting acquisition and disposal related costs of £5.5m (2024: £25.5m), exceptional operating items of £0.6m (2024: £2.1m) and IAS 19R administration expenses of £1.5m (2024: £0.7m).
Acquisition and disposal related costs represent amortisation of acquired intangibles of £3.2m (2024: £3.3m) and advisory fees in relation to the acquisition of Fibo of £2.3m (2024: £0.8m).
Underlying profit before taxation was £18.7m (2024: £17.1m). Bank interest costs and IFRS 16 interest costs on lease liabilities were broadly consistent with the prior year at £2.4m (2024: £2.5m) and £0.8m (2024: £0.8m) respectively. The application of IFRS 16 had no impact on underlying profit before taxation (2024: Nil). The reported profit before taxation was £11.1m (2024: loss of £11.0m).
Diluted underlying earnings per share were 16.2p (2024: 14.6p), reflecting an improvement in underlying profit before taxation.
The Group generated an underlying operating cash inflow of £24.1m (2024: £14.8m) in the period, representing excellent cash conversion of 107%, up from 69% in the prior year.
Capital expenditure was £2.7m in the first half (2024: £4.4m), with the main focus being investment in new product development and operational excellence projects.
Discontinued Johnson Tiles SA is not included in the income statement in either the current or prior year figures. The loss from these discontinued operations (see note 16) includes exceptional operating items of £10.1m. Approximately £9.0m of those costs relate to non-cash write-offs of inventory and fixed assets with the remainder largely relating to cash redundancy payments. Remaining inventory will continue to be sold (including through our Tile Africa business) with the overall closure process expected to be cash neutral when completed.
Financial position
The Group remains in a strong financial position with net debt (pre-IFRS 16) of £30.7m (30 March 2025: £36.8m). Inclusive of IFRS 16 lease liabilities, net debt was £49.9m (30 March 2025: £57.4m). Leverage at the period end was 0.6x underlying EBITDA on a pre-IFRS 16 basis. Post the period end and the acquisition of Fibo, proforma leverage is expected to be approximately 1.6x.
Dividend
The Board recognises the importance of dividends to shareholders and is declaring an interim dividend of 3.7p (H1 2025: 3.5p) per share, an increase of 0.2p per share, reflecting a resilient first half performance and its confidence in the Group’s future prospects. The dividend is payable on 13 January 2026 to shareholders on the register on 28 November 2025. The shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 27 November 2025.
Pension scheme
The Group’s pension scheme remains appropriately funded, with an IAS 19 surplus of £7.8m at FY26 H1 (FY25 FY: £6.8m). Scheme liabilities reduced by £5.2m largely due to benefits paid, whilst scheme assets decreased by £4.2m primarily due to benefit payments made in the period.
On an actuarial basis, at the period end the scheme is now c. 99% funded. As previously communicated, once the scheme is fully funded for two quarters on an actuarial basis, the Company’s deficit repair contributions of c. £4.5m per annum will be directed to an escrow account. In addition, these deficit repair contributions will cease in June 2027. Overall, the Group’s UK defined benefit pension scheme obligations continue to be appropriately funded and well managed.
Summary and outlook
Norcros continues to demonstrate through the cycle resilience and strategic momentum despite weak market conditions. Our disciplined execution across our four strategic pillars including the focus on portfolio development has seen the business deliver another good first half performance, with improved profitability, margins and excellent cash generation.
The acquisition of Fibo represents a significant strategic milestone, expanding our presence in Scandinavia and Central Europe, enhancing our portfolio with a highly complementary, design-led sustainable product offering. We have a strong track record of growing businesses under our ownership. This acquisition positions us to accelerate growth in our the mid-premium RMI segments and unlock further cross-selling opportunities across both our core UK&I and now in Scandinavia and central European markets.
Looking ahead, while current market conditions remain weak, we will continue to profitably grow our market share and remain confident in our ability to make further progress this year. The Board expects full year underlying operating profit to be in line with revised market expectations following the acquisition of Fibo, and which reflect continued delivery against our strategic priorities and medium-term financial targets.
