Victorian Plumbing posts first-half profit growth, backs forecast

(Alliance News) - Victorian Plumbing Group PLC on Tuesday maintained confidence in its annual guidance after profit growth in the first half, though it acknowledged softer trading conditions.

The Lancashire, England-based bathroom retailer booked GBP168.8 million in revenue for the six months ended March 31, up 11% from GBP152.7 million the previous year.

Pretax profit climbed 56% to GBP8.4 million from GBP5.4 million, with the company reporting no loss from discontinued operations, compared with a loss of GBP1.8 million the year prior. Adjusted pretax profit was below the year prior, totalling GBP9.4 million, versus GBP11.8 million, but remained broadly in line with Peel Hunt analyst consensus of GBP9.9 million.

Diluted earnings per share advanced to 2.0 pence from 1.8p on-year. Victorian Plumbing has proposed an interim dividend of 0.74 pence per share, up 5.7% from 0.70p for the first half of financial 2025.

Victorian Plumbing shares fell 2.4% to 76.60p on Tuesday afternoon in London.

Looking to the remainder if the year ending in September, the company noted "mid-single digit revenue growth in the first six weeks of H2 2026, despite the widely reported subdued consumer sentiment driven by the Middle East conflict and its impact on discretionary spending".

Victorian Plumbing added: "There have been no material cost increases to date, however, the group remains vigilant to potential inflationary pressure, particularly from imports from China and energy prices."

The company guided full-year revenue and adjusted pretax profit in line with current market expectations though it flagged "more subdued" trading conditions in the second half. Peel Hunt left its full-year forecast unchanged, for pretax profit of GBP16.5 million, versus GBP15.1 million in financial 2025.

Peel Hunt sees the company as "poised to reap the benefits from any form of consumer recovery".

"While that may well have been pushed out by recent events, VIC is also starting to benefit from the leverage of recent and on-going investment in its infrastructure, which means the group is also able to decide when and if to pass on any future inflationary supply chain cost increases through to consumers in 2027," Peel Hunt added.

Chief Executive Stephnie Judge commented: "Despite the persistent macroeconomic uncertainty, we remain on track to deliver record full year revenue and profit expectations, and we are confident that our strategy will continue to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders."

Judge's succeeded founder Mark Radcliffe last month, as Radcliffe moved to a non-executive role.

By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter

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