(Alliance News) – Victorian Plumbing Group PLC shares fell on Wednesday as pretax profit fell despite revenue and order growth, as it set out plans to resurrect the MFI brand and enter the homewares market.
The Lancashire, England-based bathroom retailer said pretax profit fell 8.5% to GBP5.4 million in the six months to the end of March from GBP5.9 million a year ago.
Shares in Victorian Plumbing fell 16% to 90.67 pence in London on Wednesday morning.
Diluted earnings per share increased 29% to 1.80 pence from 1.40 pence.
Revenue increased 5.6% to GBP152.7 million from GBP144.6 million, while total orders were up 9.7% to 542,000 from 494,000.
Cost of sales grew 5.3% to GBP76.1 million from GBP72.3 million while administrative expenses were up 6.9% to GBP69.8 million from GBP65.3 million
Victorian Plumbing said increased orders reflected continued market share gains in a subdued trading environment.
It declared an interim dividend of 0.70 pence per share, up 35% from 0.52 pence a year ago.
The firm said it was boosted by 9% revenue growth in the second quarter, following the completion of its warehouse transformation in December.
“Having invested significantly in preparing the business for future growth last year, I am pleased with the group’s strategic progress in the first half. We are fully operational in our new purpose built warehouse and have continued to improve our customer proposition, while expanding product range into other rooms within the home and taking significant market share gains in a subdued trading backdrop,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark Radcliffe.
Looking ahead, Victorian Plumbing said momentum in the second quarter improved further in April as it recorded double-digit revenue growth.
It expects the rate of revenue growth to reduce from mid-May, with growth between 4% and 6% predicted by the end of the financial year.
It expects full-year adjusted pretax profit between GBP21 million and GBP22 million.
The company said it would enter the UK Homewares market in the first half of the 2026 financial year with the launch of the “re-invented” MFI brand. It said the brand was obtained as part of the recent Victoria Plum acquisition.
It said there would be a GBP3 million cost in the current financial year as part of the launch, with no corresponding revenue.
CEO Radcliffe said: “I am very excited about the upcoming re-invention of MFI, allowing us to tap in to more of the GBP20 billion UK Homewares market. Our dedicated and ambitious team, decades of e-commerce knowledge and best-in-class proprietary software, together with the recognisable MFI brand, will help to deliver our strategic ambition over the medium-term.”
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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