ZIGUP Plc (LON:ZIG) has reported results for the full year ended 30 April 2026.
| Full year results | Reported | Underlying1 | ||||
| 2026 | 2025 | Change | 2026 | 2025 | Change | |
| £m | £m | % | £m | £m | % | |
| Revenue | 1,858.9 | 1,812.6 | 2.6% | 1,636.3 | 1,555.0 | 5.2% |
| EBIT ex-disposal profits | 164.0 | 149.5 | 9.7% | |||
| EBIT | 142.4 | 136.5 | 4.3% | 200.5 | 202.0 | (0.7%) |
| Profit before tax | 102.0 | 101.5 | 0.5% | 160.1 | 166.9 | (4.1%) |
| Earnings per share | 33.7p | 35.6p | (5.3%) | 53.1p | 58.4p | (9.2%) |
| Other measures | ||||||
| Underlying EBITDA | 502.6 | 464.5 | 8.2% | |||
| ROCE | 11.2% | 12.6% | (1.4ppt) | |||
| Dividend per share | 27.0p | 26.4p | 2.3% | |||
| 1 excludes vehicle sales revenue, exceptional items, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and adjustments to underlying depreciation. See GAAP reconciliation on page 4. | ||||||
| Balance sheet | 2026 | 2025 | Change | |||
| Net debt | £999m | £837m | £162m | |||
| Fleet assets2 | £1.76bn | £1.51bn | £0.25bn | |||
| Leverage | 1.9x | 1.8x | 0.1x | |||
| 2 referring to the net book value of vehicles for hire. | ||||||
Martin Ward, CEO of ZIGUP, commented:
“I am delighted with the progress made across our business, with a near 10% growth in EBIT excluding disposal profits reflecting both the underlying strength of our offering and sustained demand. Spain has had another standout period with its fleet at record levels, and the UK&I business is gaining good momentum, with some notable success from the performance of our nationwide bodyshops and the long-term renewal of our National Highways contract for a further 10 years. These are testament to the attraction of our proposition for partners seeking trusted expertise and outstanding customer service.
The UK&I simplification is well underway delivering the benefits we set out as planned. The realignment of the divisions under ‘Northgate Mobility’ and ‘FMG’ provides a clearer customer journey and we see additional growth opportunities across both new and existing customers as a result. The positive inflexion in steady state cash generation underlines the characteristics of the business model and the quality of earnings from a diversified but connected market and we look forward to continuing to develop the business in the year ahead.”
Key financial highlights*
· Underlying revenue: up 5.2% underpinned by growth in vehicle hire revenue (+9.8%); Total revenue up 2.6% reflecting a normalisation of vehicle defleets
· Vehicle hire revenue: Spain up 16.2% underpinned by strong VOH growth, UK&I up 5.2% through a combination of product and vehicle mix alongside pricing actions
· Robust rental margins: in both Spain (19.3%) and UK&I (16.0%) driven by continuous focus on operational efficiency and high utilisation
· Claims & Services revenues: new contract wins supporting increased volumes, offsetting lower network repairs; H2 margins improved as expected
· EBIT before disposal profits: up 9.7% reflecting strength in our core businesses
· Underlying PBT: of £160.1m, 4.1% lower as disposal profits continuing to normalise on reduced sale volumes and lower UK&I PPUs; net finance costs increased £5.3m due to funding fleet growth
· Reported PBT: of £102.0m after £13.9m unwind of 2022 depreciation adjustment and exceptional items of £26.8m, comprising Charged EV and NewLaw exit management; and £1.2m of UK&I simplification one-time costs
· Steady State Cash generation: up to £95.7m (2025: £16.7m) after £355.2m of replacement capex; growth capex of £132.4m as we capitalise on opportunities in both UK&I and Spain
*Figures are underlying, unless specifically identified otherwise. See GAAP reconciliation on page 4.
Business highlights
· Rental progress: Major rail maintenance contract in Spain and large UK&I fleet management contract reflect strong blue-chip customer demand; expanded specialist vehicle locations and range of vehicles
· Insurance contract wins and renewals: broad range of contract wins and extensions, including Howden Insurance win and National Highways 10-year extension; strong pipeline of opportunities
· Growing capacity, increasing efficiency: Three Spanish hubs/service points opened, three UK&I facilities upgraded; investment in nationwide mobile repair fleet expansion and number of structural aluminium repair centres
· Technology and customer service: Ongoing roll-out of technology infrastructure, from advanced call-centre platform, third-party API integrations; Microsoft AI collaboration signed post year-end
UK&I simplification and medium-term guidance
· The UK&I simplification is on track and being executed at pace
o Northgate Mobility brand launched on 1 May 2026
o Continue to expect £20m run-rate of annualised savings by FY2028
· Revised medium term guidance reflects new divisional structure and run rate savings
o Revenue (excluding vehicle sales): mid-single digit growth
o EBIT margin (excluding disposal profits):
· Northgate Mobility: 11-13%
o Leverage: continue to operate within 1-2x range
Outlook
Our rental markets continue to provide healthy demand for our service-led product offerings, and we are confident in the outlook for FY2027 with VOH growth expected in both geographies. In our FMG businesses we see a good pipeline of opportunities, high contract renewal rates and increasing repair productivity.
We are well positioned to deliver growth in line with market expectations for profit for the year, which take into account the cost savings identified from our UK&I simplification and are tracking well towards our target of generating in excess of £200m in steady state cash in FY2028.
(Analyst expectations for FY2027 adjusted PBT: £162.9m – £170.0m)
Analyst Briefing
Video of full year results is available from 7.30am on the website www.zigup.com. This will be followed by a hybrid presentation for sell-side analysts and institutional investors at 9.30am today, 8 July 2026.
If you are interested in attending, please email Buchanan on [email protected] to request the joining details. This hybrid presentation will also be made available shortly thereafter via a link on the Company’s website.
