4 September 2025

EUROCELL PLC (Symbol: ECEL)

HALF YEAR REPORT FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

Resilient financial and operating performance; Alunet acquisition performing well

Eurocell plc, the leading UK manufacturer and distributor of door and window products to the trade, today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

Highlights

·   Adjusted operating profit up 9%, driven by a strong contribution from Alunet (acquired in March 2025) and effective cost control, partially offset by lower organic sales volumes, labour cost inflation and investment in strategic initiatives

·    Adjusted profit before tax down 3%, reflecting higher finance costs following the Alunet acquisition

·    Continuing focus on operational improvements, cost reduction and cash flow management

·    Further progress with five-year strategy 

·    Driving shareholder returns through a combination of an increasing ordinary dividend and share buybacks, with returns of £7.3 million announced so far this year

·    Full year outlook below previous expectations, with trading conditions remaining subdued and continuing macroeconomic uncertainty impacting key markets

Key financial performance measures	H1 2025	H1 2024	Change
Revenue (£ million)	193.2	175.7	10%
Underlying measures (1)
Adjusted operating profit (£ million)	10.1	9.3	9%
Adjusted profit before tax (£ million)	7.8	8.0	(3)%
Adjusted basic earnings per share (pence)	6.0	5.6	7%
Reported measures
Operating profit (£ million)	6.1	8.9	(31)%
Profit before tax (£ million)	3.8	7.6	(50)%
Basic earnings per share (pence)	2.9	5.3	(45)%
Capital investment (£ million)	6.6	4.5	47%
Net cash generated from operating activities (£ million)	18.4	21.9	(16)%
Net debt, pre-IFRS 16 (£ million) (2)	29.0	4.3	(24.7)
Net debt (£ million) (2)	98.7	60.9	(37.8)
Interim dividend per share (pence)	2.3	2.2	5%

(1)  Non-underlying items of £4.0 million in H1 2025 comprise strategic IT project costs of £2.2 million (including cloud computing and internal resourcing costs), restructuring costs of £1.4 million and Alunet acquisition costs of £0.4 million. Non-underlying items of £0.4 million in H1 2024 relate to strategic IT project costs.

(2)   Net debt is bank overdrafts, borrowings, deferred consideration and lease liabilities less cash and cash equivalents. Pre-IFRS 16 net debt excludes lease liabilities and is provided as our financial covenants are measured on this basis.

(3)   RMI is repair, maintenance and improvement.

Resilient financial performance

·    Group sales up 10% on H1 2024, or flat excluding Alunet, with organic volumes 2% lower

·    Profiles division sales up 1% on H1 2024, with volume 2% lower, reflecting:

-    Reduced RMI⁽³⁾ activity through our trade fabricators, partially offset by some modest improvement in the new build housing market

·    Branch Network division sales down 1% on H1 2024, with volumes 2% lower, reflecting:

-     General Branch Network sales to the RMI market down 5%

-   Offset by further progress with our strategic initiatives, including window and door sales (up 8%) and e-commerce activity (up 41%), with the sales to date from new branches at £0.9 million

·   Alunet post-acquisition sales were £17.7 million for H1, representing growth of 36% over the corresponding period in 2024, driven by market share gains

-   Alunet Systems benefited from Group synergies, securing new business with 10 existing Eurocell fabricators and successfully launching the new Aluna+ aluminium window system

-   Comp Door continued to acquire new installers, with the new Sleekskin door being well received by the trade  

·    Adjusted operating profit for the Group up 9% vs H1 2024, reflecting:

-     A strong contribution from Alunet, in line with our expectations, and effective cost control, partially offset by:

o   Lower organic sales volumes and competitive pressure on selling prices in the branches

o  Continued labour and other overhead cost inflation, including the increases to employers' National Insurance and the National Living Wage from April 2025

o  Further targeted investment to maintain momentum in strategic initiatives, including the new branch opening programme (see below)

·    Reported operating profit down 31% vs H1 2024, after non-underlying items of £4.0 million ⁽¹⁾

·   Continued focus on cash management, with net cash generated from operating activities of £18.4 million (H1 2024: £21.9 million, which included an inflow from working capital)

·    Driving shareholder returns through a combination of an increasing ordinary dividend and share buybacks, with returns of £7.3 million announced so far this year, comprising:

-     Interim dividend of 2.3 pence per share up 5% (2024: 2.2 pence per share), equivalent to £2.3 million

-    £5 million share buyback announced on 20 March 2025 in progress (as of 1 September, 2.2 million shares purchased at a cost of £3.3 million) and expected to complete during the second half

-     Thereafter intend to continue share buybacks, subject to maintaining a strong financial position

Further progress with strategic initiatives

·   New branches: 2 opened at the end of 2024 plus 7 new sites and 5 relocations completed so far in 2025, creates a short-term profit drag (operating loss of £0.7 million in H1 2025), but drives longer-term profit growth

·    Windows and doors sales initiative: accelerated roll-out, with all 216 branches now live on the programme (90 live at the end of 2024)

·    Digital growth: e-commerce sales increased to £2.9 million in H1 2025 (H1 2024: £2.1 million)

·    Business effectiveness: ongoing cost reduction and operational improvements:

-  Previously announced programmes implemented in H1 2025, including Branch Network restructuring, expected to deliver annualised cost savings of at least £4 million

-     Prioritising identification of further efficiencies and cost reduction for 2026

·    ESG leadership: strong on sustainability as the leading UK-based recycler of PVC windows, with the proportion of recycled material used in production at 30% in H1 2025 (H1 2024: 32%)

Darren Waters, Chief Executive of Eurocell plc said:

"Our first half financial performance was resilient, in the context of trading conditions that remain subdued. We delivered an increase of 9% in adjusted operating profit despite lower organic volumes, thanks to a strong contribution from Alunet and effective cost control. Our cash generation was solid and our financial position remains strong.

"We have continued to invest to maintain momentum with our strategy, and have made further progress across a broad range of initiatives. The acquisition of Alunet in March is a compelling strategic fit for Eurocell and the business has performed very well.

"While demand in our core RMI market remains sluggish, we have seen some modest early signs of an improving picture in new build housing, albeit from a very low base. We are therefore continuing to focus on cost reduction and operational improvements to drive efficiency and mitigate against the impact of delayed market recovery. Whilst the full year outlook is below our previous expectations, the medium and long-term growth prospects for the UK construction market remain attractive and we are well positioned to drive sustainable growth in shareholder value."

 

Analyst presentation

There will be an audiocast presentation for analysts and investors at 11am today. The presentation can be accessed remotely via a live audiocast link as follows: https://streamstudio.world-television.com/782-2007-42178/en

 

Alternatively, you can join via conference call as follows:

Dial-in	+44 20 3481 4247
Toll free	+44 800 260 6466
Conference ID: Eurocell Full Year Results	4912001

 

A copy of the presentation will be made available from 7am today on the Group's website: https://investors.eurocell.co.uk/investors/

Following the presentation, a recording of the audiocast will also be made available on the Group's website (link above).

 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Trading conditions in our key markets remain subdued, with challenging macroeconomic conditions and weak consumer confidence, compounded by uncertainty related to high interest rates and geopolitical risks, impacting activity levels in both the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) and new build housing markets.

As a result, underlying sales volumes were below H1 2024. Nevertheless, organic revenues include further progress with our strategic initiatives and total Group revenues were bolstered by the acquisition of Alunet in March 2025.

We have continued to experience significant labour cost inflation and have therefore focused on further overhead cost reduction and operational improvements, to drive more efficiency and mitigate against the impact of delayed market recovery. At the same time, we have progressed further targeted investments to maintain momentum in our strategic initiatives.

Further details of our financial and operating performance, together with an update on the progress with implementation of our five-year strategy and the acquisition of Alunet, are set out below.

 

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Group sales of £193.2 million were 10% above H1 2024, or level with H1 2024 excluding Alunet, with volumes down 2%. In the Alunet business, market share gains have driven good sales growth.

Adjusted operating profit for H1 was £10.1 million, up 9% on H1 2024. This reflects a strong contribution from Alunet, in line with our expectations, and effective cost control, partially offset by lower organic volumes, competitive pressure on selling prices in the branches, labour cost inflation and further investment in our strategic initiatives.

Net cash generated from operations was £18.4 million, reflecting a continued focus on cash management. This compares to net cash generated from operations of £21.9 million in H1 2024, which included an inflow from working capital.

Further information on our financial performance is included in the Chief Financial Officer's Review.

 

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Production

Extrusion performance has been consistent and the level of output stable, benefiting from process improvements and increased preventative maintenance. We have a programme of initiatives to drive further operational improvements (see Business Effectiveness below) and expect these benefits to start to materialise in H2 2025, and thereafter as volumes increase.

 

Recycling

We are the leading UK-based recycler of PVC windows, saving the equivalent of c.3 million window frames from landfill each year. Our use of recycled materials in production remains substantial at 30%, driving lower carbon emissions and cost savings compared to the use of virgin material, through the cycle. A slight reduction on H1 2024 (32%) reflects product mix and lower volumes, as well as some unscheduled plant downtime caused by equipment breakdowns. Similar to extrusion, we have increased our programme of preventative maintenance in the recycling facilities to reduce the risk of future breakdowns.

Recycling feedstock purchase prices have remained stable, reflecting the action we have taken to secure additional cost-effective sources of supply.

Furthermore, we are finding more ways to both minimise and utilise the waste product generated by our plants and expect to reduce the amount sent to landfill over time.

 

Health and Safety

The safety and well-being of our employees, contractors and branch customers is our number one priority. Health and safety is the first agenda item for key internal meetings. We have enhanced the reporting of near misses and unsafe acts and conditions, as part of a proactive approach to risk management, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of future workplace injuries. This, when combined with the effective and timely implementation of corrective and preventive action, supports our positive and improving safety culture.

Following improved safety results in 2024, our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate ('LTIFR') was 6.4 in H1 2025, compared to 4.1 in 2024 (full year). In the light of these results, we have renewed our efforts to focus on the higher risk facilities, and are implementing enhanced safety training at team leader level. We have also integrated the Alunet companies into our health and safety strategy.

 

STRATEGY

At the beginning of 2024 we launched our ambitious strategy, which reset our objectives for the business. We identified a pathway to building a £500 million revenue, £50 million operating profit business, generating a 10% operating margin, over the five-year period to December 2028. Our strategy is built around four pillars: Customer Growth, Business Effectiveness, People First and ESG Leadership. The following paragraphs summarise these pillars and the initiatives which support them, together with our progress so far.

 

Customer Growth

Our aim is to become the trade customer's preferred choice in all markets and segments where we operate. We believe the biggest opportunity for growth is expansion of the Branch Network, including opening new branches and significantly increasing the sale of windows and doors, underpinned by investment in digital marketing, to raise awareness of our products and home improvement solutions and acquire new customers.

Branch Network

We estimate that the optimum Branch Network size is at least 250 sites, which was confirmed in 2024 through modelling and analysis work with our location planning partner. This work identified an additional c.50 priority locations.

We opened 2 branches in Q4 2024, followed by 7 so far in 2025, primarily in the South of England, delivering incremental sales of £0.9 million in H1 2025. We now have 216 sites in operation and plan to add c.30 new sites over the next three to four years.

We are supplementing the opening programme with several branch relocations, where the current site is sub-optimal in terms of size or location, and therefore a constraint to our growth objectives. Following 2 site relocations in 2024, we have completed another 5 so far in 2025.

New branches and relocations include a refreshed branch exterior and are supported with strong pre-opening recruitment and marketing campaigns. This programme therefore creates a short-term profit drag (£0.7 million in H1 2025), but drives longer-term profit growth.

Windows and doors

With our initiative to sell more windows and doors through the network, our target is to fill at least 50% of the available spare capacity in the estate over the five-year period, which we forecast will drive incremental annual sales of c.£35 million.

Following encouraging early results, we accelerated the site roll-out, with all 216 branches now live on the programme (90 live at 31 December 2024) and delivered incremental window and door sales of £0.9 million in H1 2025 compared to the first half of 2024 (up 8%) and £2.0 million compared to H1 2023 (up 17%).

In addition to the progressive site roll-out, we have built a dedicated supply chain to support the whole network. The project provides incremental growth opportunities for our fabricator partners, and we are working with them to secure additional capacity.

Extended living spaces

Extended living comprises garden rooms and extensions. Since launching these product ranges, we have delivered good sales growth, but operating margins have been below our expectations, due to the cost of lead generation and other selling costs. In the second half we plan to review this initiative, to evaluate whether returns can be improved.

Profiles

In Profiles, following a period of strong growth prior to the launch of our strategy, we believe we are now the leading supplier of rigid PVC profile to the UK market. Looking forward, our objective is to protect our existing business and maintain our value-added service propositions that support customers. We will continue to leverage our leading position with housebuilders and commercial developers to ensure we maintain specifications to support a robust pipeline of work for our fabricator customers. We are recognised across the industry as the leading technical systems house and will continue to exploit this advantage.

The windows and doors initiative also provides growth opportunities in Profiles, as it pulls through increased profile sales via fabricator partners and increased composite door sales through our entrance doors businesses.

As described below, the acquisition of Alunet in March 2025 complements our proposition to fabricators, by providing a one-stop shop for PVC and aluminium door and window systems.

Digital growth

Following the launch of our new website in 2023, we have a future-proofed platform and a competitive advantage in the online space, with an ambitious digital strategy to drive more relevant trade customer traffic to our website, as well as build homeowner brand awareness.

Since then, we have invested in our organic web traffic growth, increased our digital paid media, improved our use of AI to support customer targeting and developed our web proposition with initiatives such as one hour click-and-collect. As a result, we have grown e-commerce sales to £2.9 million in H1 2025 (H1 2024: £2.1 million).

We have also driven more homeowner leads to buy big ticket items, and attracted new trade accounts to our branches, with 7,302 new spending accounts added in H1 2025 (H1 2024: 5,728, full year 2024: 7,800).

 

Business Effectiveness

Our objective is to make Eurocell a lean and efficient business. We are upgrading our business systems and streamlining structures and processes to increase efficiency and improve customer experience. Given that the near-term market outlook is likely to remain challenging, we are continuing to prioritise cost reduction and operational improvements.

Continuous improvement, efficiencies and cost reduction

We are further embedding a continuous improvement philosophy, which has highlighted opportunities for efficiencies in the Branch Network, manufacturing and recycling operations.

As previously announced, in April 2025, we restructured the Branch Network by removing a layer of regional operational management, reducing the size of the salesforce and closing a small number of underperforming branches, generating annualised cost savings of c.£2 million. In parallel, we are upskilling branch managers, to drive better, faster decision making and greater ownership for branch performance.

In May 2025, we announced further overhead cost reductions to be realised in 2025 of c.£2 million. In addition, we are now prioritising the identification of further efficiencies and cost reduction for 2026.

Finally, in our manufacturing and recycling operations, we are pursuing opportunities to reduce scrap and improve transport utilisation.

Systems replacement

As previously announced, we are in the process of replacing our Enterprise Resource Planning ('ERP') system, including a new trade counter system in the Branch Network.

We selected Intact iQ as the new trade counter system, to transform the way we interact and transact with customers in the branches, primarily through process simplification, including electronic point-of-sale technology. IFS Cloud will be our new ERP system, to support all other functions of the business. IFS comes with analytics to facilitate data-driven decisions and supports the integration of functions which currently operate on standalone systems, including customer relationship management.

The expected cost of the system replacement is in the region of £10 million over the 2024-2026 period. The implementation is on track and, as previously reported, we estimate the transition will take place around mid-2026.

 

People First

The progress we are making in the business is testament to the commitment, hard work and dedication of our teams in every part of the Group, and I would like to offer, on behalf of the Executive Committee and the Board, my sincere thanks to them all.

With People First, our objective is to make Eurocell a great place to work, through a focus on health and safety, an enhanced employee value proposition, improved levels of engagement and effective talent management.

For health and safety, as described above, we are focused on the highest risk sites, plus improving leadership skills and providing appropriate safety education.

For our employee value proposition, we are developing a wellbeing framework, new recognition schemes and better induction and onboarding programmes.    

Key priorities for employee engagement include a new internal communications framework, colleague forums and stepping up community and charity work. In 2024, we completed our first externally administered employee engagement survey, with plans developed in response to the findings. The 2024 survey provides a baseline and we will measure our progress with a similar exercise in H2 2025.

Effective talent management includes talent development, succession planning and an increasing use of apprenticeships. We intend to launch a revised apprenticeship offer and a new leadership development framework, affiliated to the Institute of Leadership and Management.

 

ESG Leadership

Our ambition is to be a leading responsible company. Eurocell is already a leader in PVC recycling, and looking ahead, we aim to excel in all areas of ESG.

We are working with CEN Group, a specialist ESG consultancy, to support the development of our ESG strategy and improve our ESG data and disclosures.

In 2024, we completed the work to determine a path to reach Net Zero by 2045. So far in 2025, our targets have been independently verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative ('SBTi') and we have published our Transition Plan.

We now intend to progress decarbonisation initiatives in line with the Transition Plan. For Scope 1 and 2, the critical actions are increasing the proportion of renewable electricity we use, plus beginning the work to decarbonise our commercial fleet and other company vehicles. For Scope 3, our focus is to identify paths to optimise recycling and explore options to increase the use of commercially viable lower carbon alternatives to PVC resin over time.

 

ACQUISITION OF ALUNET

In UK fenestration, aluminium is growing in popularity and now accounts for c.17% (by volume) and 36% (by value) of the UK market, driven initially by bi-fold doors, but also now featuring other fenestration products. Historically, Eurocell has not had its own aluminium system, instead offering a relatively narrow range of third-party aluminium products. Our total aluminium sales were c.£12 million in 2024.  

Since launching our strategy, a key objective for the Profiles business has been to protect our position in fenestration by expanding the Group's aluminium offering, including a wider range of products and ownership of our own system.

In March 2025, we announced the acquisition of Alunet, valued at £29 million on a debt/cash free basis. Full financial details of the transaction, including the potential for additional performance-related payments, are set out in the Chief Financial Officer's Review.

Alunet is a compelling strategic fit for Eurocell: it addresses the growing trend towards aluminium fabrication across the fenestration sector, significantly strengthens our position in composite doors, and adds aluminium garage doors to our home improvement product portfolio. Alunet's retained team, led by Chief Executive Steve Hudson, has strengthened the Group's management and Steve has joined our Executive Committee. Alunet employs approximately 200 people and we were delighted to welcome them all to the Group.

Alunet's stable of innovative, fast growing, home improvement brands comprises four businesses, as described below.

 

Alunet Systems

Alunet Systems, based in Dewsbury, is an aluminium systems house focused on the residential sector. It sources aluminium profile from key European-based extruders using Alunet tooling and offers a full range of window and door solutions, including bi-fold and sliding patio doors, sold under the Aluna brand.

The new Aluna+ aluminium window system, combined with Eurocell's new Iconiq aluminium roof lantern, forms the core of our new Aluna brand 'whole house' concept. This is a sector-leading proposition both for pure aluminium fabricators and for Eurocell PVC fabricators, many of whom also fabricate aluminium. In addition, our window and door project creates an opportunity to specify the use of Alunet to those fabricators that are supplying the Branch Network under the programme.

 

Comp Door

Based in Stoke-on-Trent, Comp Door is a fast-growing manufacturer of premium solid timber core entrance doors. The business is increasingly recognised as the trade's preferred choice, and we expect the combination of Comp Door and Vista to make Eurocell the market leader in entrance doors, with a good (PVC), better (GRP composite), best (solid core) proposition.

Comp Door provides Eurocell with a great cross-selling opportunity with fabricators, and through digital marketing we can create leads for installers and promote the business through the Branch Network. We also believe that there are synergies available in areas such as supply chain (PVC skins, hardware, seals and glue) and transport.

 

JDUK and UK Doors (Midlands)

JDUK, also based in Dewsbury, is a supplier of sectional aluminium garage doors and components, operating under an exclusive private label arrangement with a European-based supplier for the UK market. UK Doors (Midlands) is a manufacturer of aluminium roller shutter garage doors, based near Birmingham.

These businesses complement our range of exterior home improvement products. Many garage door installers are already Eurocell customers through the Branch Network. There is an opportunity to cross-sell, as well as leverage our digital marketing expertise to generate homeowner leads for installers.

 

Financial Performance

For the year ended 31 December 2024, Alunet delivered unaudited revenue of £43 million and operating profit of £3.9 million (on a pre-IFRS 16 basis). In the period from the acquisition at the beginning of March to 30 June 2025, Alunet added sales of £17.7 million and adjusted operating profit of £1.6 million to the Group. This represents strong growth over the corresponding period in 2024, driven by market share gains, and is stated before amortisation of the acquired intangible assets and additional finance costs arising on increased debt following the acquisition.

Further information on the financial performance of Alunet is included in the Chief Financial Officer's Review.

 

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

Our first half financial performance was resilient, in the context of trading conditions that remain subdued. We delivered an increase of 9% in adjusted operating profit despite lower organic volumes, thanks to a strong contribution from Alunet and effective cost control. Our cash generation was solid and our financial position remains strong.

We have continued to invest to maintain momentum with our strategy and have made further progress across a broad range of initiatives. The acquisition of Alunet in March is a compelling strategic fit for Eurocell and the business has performed very well.

While demand in our core RMI market remains sluggish, we have seen some modest early signs of an improving picture in new build housing, albeit from a very low base. We are therefore continuing to focus on cost reduction and operational improvements to drive efficiency and mitigate against the impact of delayed market recovery. Whilst the full year outlook is below our previous expectations, the medium and long-term growth prospects for the UK construction market remain attractive and we are well positioned to drive sustainable growth in shareholder value.

 

Darren Waters

Chief Executive Officer

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER'S REVIEW

		H1 2025	H1 2024
		£m	£m
Revenue		193.2	175.7
Gross profit		98.5	92.2
Gross margin %		51.0%	52.5%
Overheads		(75.3)	(70.4)
Adjusted(1) EBITDA		23.2	21.8
Depreciation and amortisation		(13.1)	(12.5)
Adjusted(1) operating profit		10.1	9.3
Finance costs		(2.3)	(1.3)
Adjusted(1) profit before tax		7.8	8.0
Taxation		(1.8)	(1.9)
Adjusted(1) profit after tax		6.0	6.1
Adjusted(1) basic earnings per share (pence)		6.0	5.6
Non-underlying items		(4.0)	(0.4)
Tax on non-underlying items		0.9	0.1
Reported operating profit		6.1	8.9
Reported profit before tax		3.8	7.6
Reported profit after tax		2.9	5.8
Reported basic earnings per share (pence)		2.9	5.3

(1)   See alternative performance measures.

 

INTRODUCTION

Trading conditions remain subdued, with the weak trends experienced last year in the RMI and new house building markets continuing through into 2025, resulting in first half organic sales volumes slightly below the comparative period.

However, we have proactively managed our gross margin and cost base, to offset significant cost inflation and support investment in our strategy. We delivered an organic gross margin and overhead costs both flat with H1 2024.

Alunet has performed well since the acquisition in March 2025, driven by strong market share growth, and is a key driver of the Group's adjusted operating profit increase for the period.

We continue to focus on efficient working capital management, delivering solid cash flow generation for the first half and retain a strong balance sheet with good liquidity.

We are committed to driving shareholder returns through a combination of an increasing ordinary dividend and share buybacks and have announced returns of £7.3 million so far this year. The interim dividend for 2025 is up 5% compared to H1 2024 and we expect to complete the buyback of up to £5 million launched in March 2025 during the second half. Thereafter, we intend to continue share buybacks, subject to maintaining a strong financial position.

The progress we have made with of our strategy, including the acquisition of Alunet, together with actions we continue to take on cost and cash flow, underpin our confidence in realising our ambitions, and we remain well positioned to take advantage of a recovery in our end markets.

 

REVENUE

Revenue for H1 was £193.2 million, 10% above H1 2024 (£175.7 million), or flat excluding Alunet, with organic volumes down 2%.

In the period from the acquisition at the beginning of March to 30 June 2025, Alunet added sales of £17.7 million to the Group. See Divisional Performance for further information on revenues.

 

GROSS MARGIN

Gross margin was 51.0% in H1, or 52.6% excluding Alunet, compared to 52.5% in H1 2024.

In the organic business, we implemented selling price increases to recover cost inflation, although competition for limited demand continues to drive pressure on selling prices in the Branch Network.

However, we continue to proactively manage our gross margin and secured stable input cost prices for H1, including PVC resin, recycling feedstock and electricity.

Whilst there are only a limited number of suppliers for PVC resin and certain other key raw materials, we have successfully identified alternative sources and introduced other initiatives to drive competitive tension in our supply chain. For our recycling business, we have made good progress securing additional sources of feedstock and now have c.50% of our annual requirement contracted at good prices. We operate a rolling forward hedging policy for electricity and are substantially hedged for the remainder of this year at similar prices to H1.

The Alunet gross margin (excluding acquisition fair value accounting) at c.35% is in line with acquisition assumptions.

 

DISTRIBUTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES (OVERHEADS)

Underlying overheads for H1 were £75.3 million, up 7% on H1 2024 (£70.4 million), or flat excluding Alunet, demonstrating effective cost control. We have continued to experience cost inflation, particularly for labour, which includes the increases to employers' National Insurance and the National Living Wage from April 2025. Overheads also include targeted investment to maintain momentum in our strategic initiatives, including the new branch opening programme. These increases were partially offset by the previously announced cost savings, including the Branch Network restructuring completed in April 2025.

 

DEPRECIATION AND AMORTISATION (D&A)

D&A for H1 was £13.1 million (H1 2024: £12.5 million).

 

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Alternative performance measures are used alongside statutory measures to facilitate a better understanding of financial performance and comparison with prior periods, and to provide audited financial information against which the Group's bank covenants, which are all measured on a pre-IFRS 16 basis, can be assessed.

Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted operating profit and adjusted profit before tax all exclude non-underlying items. Adjusted profit after tax and adjusted earnings per share exclude non-underlying items and the related tax effect. Pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA is stated inclusive of operating lease rentals under IAS 17 Leases. Pre-IFRS 16 net debt is defined as total borrowings and lease liabilities less cash and cash equivalents, excluding the impact of IFRS 16 Leases.

We classify some material items of income and expense as non-underlying when the nature and infrequency merit separate presentation. Alongside statutory measures, this facilitates a better understanding of financial performance and comparison with prior periods.

 

NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS

Non-underlying items for H1 2025 of £4.0 million comprise: strategic IT expenses of £2.2 million, including cloud computing and internal resourcing costs, which are expensed as incurred rather than capitalised as intangible assets, restructuring costs of £1.4 million, being redundancy payments and related employee benefit termination costs in connection with restructuring completed in the first half, plus Alunet acquisition costs of £0.4 million.

Non-underlying items of £0.4 million in H1 2024 relate to strategic IT project costs.

Strategic IT expenses relate to the replacement of our Enterprise Resource Planning ('ERP') system, including a new trade counter system for the Branch Network. The expected total cost of the system replacement is in the region of £10 million over the 2024-26 period, with £4.4 million incurred to date. The implementation is on track and, as previously reported, we estimate the transition will take place around mid-2026.

 

DIVISIONAL PERFORMANCE - PROFILES

			H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m	Change %
Third-party revenue			73.3	72.6	1%
Inter-segmental revenue			31.0	32.7	(5)%
Total revenue			104.3	105.3	(1)%
Adjusted(1) operating profit			8.3	8.5	(2)%
Operating profit			7.0	8.5	(18)%

(1)   Adjusted performance measures are stated before non-underlying items.

Profiles third-party revenue for H1 was £73.3 million, 1% higher than H1 2024 with volume down 2%, reflecting reduced RMI activity through our trade fabricators, partially offset by some modest improvement in the new build housing market. Cost-of-living pressures, high interest rates and falling house prices have all had a significant adverse effect on our end markets.

Profiles adjusted operating profit for H1 of £8.3 million was 2% below H1 2024, reflecting lower sales volumes plus labour and other cost inflation, with stable raw material and electricity costs.

Reported operating profit is stated after non-underlying costs of £1.3 million in H1 2025 (strategic IT expenses and restructuring costs). There were no non-underlying costs in the Profiles division in H1 2024.

 

DIVISIONAL PERFORMANCE - BRANCH NETWORK

			H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m	Change %
Third-party revenue			102.2	103.1	(1)%
Inter-segmental revenue			0.2	0.2	-
Total revenue			102.4	103.3	(1)%
Adjusted(1) operating profit			0.9	2.2	(59)%
Operating (loss)/profit			(1.4)	1.8	(178)%

(1)   Adjusted performance measures are stated before non-underlying items.

Third-party revenues in the Branch Network for H1 were £102.2 million, 1% lower than H1 2024, with volume down 2%. This comprises general RMI volumes in the branch network down 5%, with homeowners holding back on discretionary expenditure against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, offset by the benefits of progress with our strategic initiatives, including window and door sales (up 8%) and e-commerce activity (up 41%). New branches added sales of £0.9 million in the first half (see impact on operating profit below).

Branch Network adjusted operating profit for H1 2025 was £0.9 million, 59% below H1 2024, reflecting competitive pressure on selling prices in the branches and higher overheads, which include labour and other cost inflation.

Overheads also include investment to maintain momentum in our strategic initiatives, including the new branch opening programme. We opened 2 new branches at the end of 2024 plus 7 so far in 2025, which together with 5 site relocations, creates a short-term profit drag (c.£0.7m in H1), but drives longer-term profit growth. Investment in strategic initiatives also includes marketing (pay-per-click), sales professionals and central order processing capability, and we expect to leverage this investment and improve margins as volumes grow.

The reported operating (loss)/profit is stated after non-underlying costs of £2.3 million in H1 2025 (strategic IT expenses and restructuring costs) and £0.4 million in H1 2024 (strategic IT expenses).

 

DIVISIONAL PERFORMANCE - ALUNET

In March 2025 we announced the acquisition of Alunet in a deal that valued the business at £29 million, based on a multiple of 6.5x Alunet's EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2024. Initial consideration paid of £22 million was on a debt/cash free basis, and future payments over the next four years could rise to £13 million, contingent upon performance against agreed EBITDA targets. The maximum future payments, if achieved, would result in a total consideration of £35 million, representing a multiple of c.4x Alunet's projected EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2028.

Approximately £1 million of the initial payment was in the form of ordinary shares in Eurocell plc and satisfied out of shares held in treasury, with the remainder payable in cash, funded from the Group's existing £75 million revolving credit facility.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to the Group's underlying earnings for 2025, and pro forma net debt is expected to be below 1.0x pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA at 31 December 2025.

 

			H1 2025 £m	H1 2024 £m	Change %
Third-party revenue			17.7	-	n/a
Inter-segmental revenue			-	-	n/a
Total revenue			17.7	-	n/a
Adjusted(1) operating profit			1.6	-	n/a
Operating profit			1.6	-	n/a

(1)   Adjusted performance measures are stated before non-underlying items.

In the period from the acquisition at the beginning of March to 30 June 2025, Alunet external sales were £17.7 million. This represents growth of 36% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, driven by market share gains, particularly in Alunet Systems and Comp Door, which together represent c.75% of Alunet's sales.

Since the acquisition, Alunet Systems has secured new business with 10 Eurocell fabricators and successfully launched the Aluna+ aluminium window system in April, which complements the new Eurocell Iconiq aluminium roof lantern. As a result, we expect that sales will continue to build in H2. Comp Door has continued to acquire new installers, with the new Sleekskin door well received by the trade and we expect the business to benefit from cross-selling opportunities and supply chain synergies with Vista.  

Alunet post-acquisition adjusted operating profit for H1 was £1.6 million, up £1.1 million on H1 2024.

The Corporate segment operating profit includes a further underlying charge of £0.1 million relating to the Alunet acquisition, comprising amortisation of acquired intangible assets and the unwind of discounting of future contingent consideration, and a non-underlying charge of £0.4 million relating to acquisition expenses.

 

OPERATING PROFIT

Adjusted operating profit for H1 was £10.1 million, up 9% on H1 2024. This reflects a strong contribution from Alunet and effective cost control, partially offset by lower organic volumes, competitive pressure on selling prices in the branches, labour cost inflation and targeted investment to maintain momentum in our strategic initiatives.

 

FINANCE COSTS AND TAXATION

Finance costs for H1 were £2.3 million, which includes incremental interest of approximately £0.6m arising on higher debt following the Alunet acquisition. Finance costs were £1.3 million in H1 2024.

The underlying tax charge for H1 2025 was £1.8 million (H1 2024: £1.9 million). The total tax charge for H1 2025 was £0.9 million (H1 2024: £1.8 million). The effective tax rate on underlying profit before tax for H1 2025 of 24% (H1 2024: 24%) is slightly lower than the standard tax rate for both periods of 25% due to the benefit of Patent Box relief.

We were pleased to retain the Fair Tax Mark accreditation in 2024, reflecting our commitment to paying the right amount of tax at the right time.

 

PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND EARNINGS PER SHARE

Adjusted profit before tax for H1 was £7.8 million, compared to £8.0 million in H1 2024, reflecting the increase in adjusted operating profit described above, offset by increased finance costs following the Alunet acquisition.

Reported profit before tax for H1 was £3.8 million (H1 2024: £7.6 million), reflecting the above less £4.0 million of non-underlying costs (H1 2024: £0.4 million).

Adjusted basic earnings per share for H1 were 6.0 pence and diluted earnings per share were 5.9 pence (H1 2024: both 5.6 pence). Total basic and diluted earnings per share were both 2.9 pence (H1 2024: both 5.3 pence).

 

DIVIDENDS AND SHARE BUYBACKS

The Board is committed to driving shareholder returns through a combination of an increasing ordinary dividend and supplementary distributions (currently via share buybacks) where appropriate, whilst always seeking to maintain a strong financial position. We have announced total shareholder returns of £7.3 million so far this year, as described below.

The £15 million share buyback programme beginning in January 2024 was completed in February 2025, with 10.7 million shares repurchased. A new buyback of up to £5 million was launched in March 2025, with (as of 1 September) 2.2 million shares purchased at a cost of £3.3 million, and we expect to complete this buyback during H2. Thereafter, we intend to continue share buybacks, subject to maintaining a strong financial position.

On 3 September 2025, the Board approved an interim dividend for the six months ended 30 June 2025 of 2.3 pence per share (£2.3 million), an increase of 5% compared to H1 2024. The interim dividend will be paid on 10 October 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of business at 12 September 2025 and shares will be marked ex-dividend on 11 September 2025.

The retained earnings of Eurocell plc as at 30 June 2025 were £33.1 million. The Company takes steps to ensure distributable reserves are maintained at an appropriate level through intra-Group dividend flows.

 

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

Capital expenditure for H1 2025 of £6.6 million (H1 2024: £4.5 million), includes £2.4 million for new branches and site relocations, but is otherwise largely maintenance in nature.

CASH FLOW

Net cash generated from operating activities for H1 2025 was £18.4 million (H1 2024: £21.9 million), including a net outflow from working capital of £0.9 million, comprised of a decrease in inventories (£0.8 million) and increases in receivables (£9.9 million) and payables (£8.2 million). This compares to a net inflow from working capital of £0.9 million in H1 2024. Net cash generated from operating activities also includes net tax paid in H1 of £1.3 million (H1 2024: £1.1 million).

Other cash flow items include payments for capital investments of £7.0 million (H1 2024: £5.0 million), including the net movement on capital creditors of £0.4 million, and financing costs paid of £0.9 million (H1 2024: £0.4 million), plus the initial Alunet cash consideration (net of cash acquired) of £20.2 million.

The principal elements of lease payments of £7.7 million (H1 2024: £7.0 million) are presented within cash flows arising from financing activities. The finance elements of lease payments were £1.3 million (H1 2024: £0.9 million).

Dividends of £3.9 million (being the 2024 final dividend) were paid to shareholders during H1 2025 (H1 2024: £3.8 million, being the 2023 final dividend). Under share buyback programmes in H1 2025, 1.9 million shares were repurchased for a total consideration (including transaction costs) of £3.0 million (H1 2024: £10.0 million).

 

NET DEBT

Net debt on a pre-IFRS 16 basis at 30 June 2025 was £29.0 million (30 June 2024: £4.3 million, 31 December 2024: £3.1 million), including deferred consideration for Alunet of £0.2 million. Lease liabilities increased by £10.3 million in H1 2025, due to new branches plus the properties and vehicles acquired with the Alunet Group. Reported net debt at 30 June 2025 was £98.7 million (30 June 2024: £60.9 million, 31 December 2024: £62.5 million).

 

	30 June	30 June	31 December
	2025	2024	2024
	£m	£m	£m
Cash	6.4	1.5	0.4
Bank overdrafts	(1.6)	(1.4)	(3.0)
Deferred consideration	(0.2)	-	-
Borrowings	(33.6)	(4.4)	(0.5)
Net debt (pre-IFRS 16)	(29.0)	(4.3)	(3.1)
Lease liabilities	(69.7)	(56.6)	(59.4)
Net debt (reported)	(98.7)	(60.9)	(62.5)

 

BANK FACILITIES

Our activities are funded via our £75 million unsecured, sustainable Revolving Credit Facility, which matures in May 2027. The facility is provided by Barclays, NatWest and Bank of Ireland, and is competitively priced. In terms of sustainability, modest adjustments to the margin are applied based on our achievement against annual targets for usage of recycled material in our products, waste recycled and carbon emissions. We operate comfortably within the terms of the facility and in compliance with our financial covenants, which are measured on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group are set out in the 2024 Annual Report (pages 58-62). These risks remain unchanged and are as follows:

·      Macroeconomic and market conditions

·      Cyber security

·      Health and safety

·      Supply chain risk

·      Sustainability and climate change

·      Managing change

·      ERP system implementation

·      Operational and regulatory compliance

 

Michael Scott 

Chief Financial Officer

RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT OF THE DIRECTORS IN RESPECT OF THE HALF YEAR REPORT

We confirm that to the best of the Directors' knowledge:

·    The condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standard 34 and;

·      The interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by:

(a)  DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and

(b)  DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last Annual Report that could do so.

 

 

By Order of the Board

 

Darren Waters                                                                                    Michael Scott

Chief Executive Officer                                                                       Chief Financial Officer

3 September 2025                                                                               3 September 2025