Angling Direct FY26 results: record UK sales, better profits and bigger ambitions
Angling Direct has delivered a strong set of final results for the year ended 31 January 2026. Revenue rose 13.8% to £103.9 million, adjusted EBITDA – a profit measure that strips out interest, tax, depreciation and certain accounting items – jumped 42.9% to £4.8 million, and basic earnings per share climbed 51.9% to 2.81p.
The headline here is simple: the UK business is doing the heavy lifting, and it is doing it well. Record UK sales of £99.2 million have effectively brought the group to its old £100 million medium-term target already, so management has now moved the goalposts higher.
| Key FY26 numbers | FY26 | FY25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £103.9 million | £91.3 million | +13.8% |
| Total UK sales | £99.2 million | £86.4 million | +14.8% |
| UK online sales | £42.8 million | £35.7 million | +20.0% |
| Gross margin | 37.6% | 36.2% | +140bps |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £4.8 million | £3.4 million | +42.9% |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £2.9 million | £2.0 million | +44.0% |
| Basic EPS | 2.81p | 1.85p | +51.9% |
| Net cash | £10.9 million | £12.1 million | Down £1.2 million |
Why Angling Direct’s UK growth story still looks convincing
The most impressive part of this update is how broad-based the UK growth was. Store sales rose 11.1% to £56.4 million, online sales climbed 20.0% to £42.8 million, and total UK like-for-like sales increased 11.9% to £93.6 million.
That matters because it suggests this is not just a case of opening more stores and buying growth. Existing sites and the online operation are both improving, which is usually a healthier sign for retail investors.
Management points to better footfall, stronger conversion, higher website sessions and improved customer engagement through MyAD. In plain English, more people are turning up, more of them are buying, and the company is getting better at nudging repeat purchases.
MyAD loyalty scheme is becoming a serious competitive advantage
MyAD looks like the engine room of this story. UK membership increased 46.8% to more than 600,000, up from 409,000 a year earlier.
For a specialist retailer, that is a big deal. Loyalty schemes are not just about handing out offers – they also give the business better customer data, which can improve marketing efficiency, pricing decisions and repeat spending. Angling Direct is clearly leaning hard into that advantage.
The group also said the percentage of customers shopping across both stores and online increased by 310 basis points. That is exactly what an omni-channel retailer wants: customers who use multiple channels tend to be stickier and more valuable.
Gross margin improvement shows this is not growth at any price
Sales growth is nice, but margin growth is what really sharpens the investment case. Gross margin improved by 140 basis points to 37.6%, while UK gross margin rose 130 basis points to 38.0%.
That improvement was helped by own-brand products, better supplier terms and growth in higher-margin service revenue. Own-brand pre-shrink gross profit penetration is now 14.2%, and own-brand gross profit grew by around 53% in the UK.
That is encouraging because own-brand ranges usually give retailers more control over margin and product differentiation. It also means Angling Direct is not relying entirely on third-party brands where price competition can be brutal.
Costs are still a battle, but management seems on top of them
This was not a cost-free year. The company faced higher living wage costs, higher employer National Insurance contributions, rental inflation and increased theft in stores, which hurt UK retail gross margin by 20 basis points.
Even so, adjusted EBITDA in the UK rose 25.5% to £5.3 million. That tells you the business is scaling well enough to absorb cost pressure and still move profit forward.
There was also a chunky investment of around £2.1 million in digital shelf edge labelling across the estate. That will not thrill investors looking for short-term cash conservation, but if it helps offset wage inflation in FY27 and beyond, it looks sensible rather than reckless.
European business is still weak, but the losses are heading the right way
Europe remains the awkward bit. Sales fell 4.7% to £4.7 million, and online revenues in Europe were down 23.4% to £4.1 million as management focused on more profitable sales rather than chasing volume.
That said, there is genuine improvement beneath the surface. European adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed to £0.5 million from £0.8 million, and the Utrecht store in the Netherlands reached break-even in its first full year.
My take: this is better, but Europe is still a project rather than a profit engine. Investors should be pleased that losses are shrinking, but I would not give this division too much credit yet.
Cash, buybacks and balance sheet strength give Angling Direct options
Angling Direct ended the year with net cash of £10.9 million and no external borrowing outside lease liabilities. That is a strong position for a small-cap retailer and gives the group room to invest without stretching itself.
Adjusted free cash flow improved sharply to £4.8 million from £1.3 million. Reported cash fell during the year, but that was largely because the group kept investing in new stores, technology and its ongoing share buyback.
On buybacks, the company returned £1.1 million to shareholders by the year-end and £2.0 million to date under the £4.0 million programme. That has reduced shares in issue by approximately 6%, which helps support earnings per share.
The slight downside is that there is still no dividend. That is not necessarily a problem if capital is being reinvested at strong returns, but income-focused investors will need to look elsewhere for now.
Upgraded medium-term objectives: why this matters for investors
The board has upgraded its medium-term objectives, and that is one of the most important parts of the announcement. The new targets include a UK revenue flightpath to £125 million and UK adjusted EBITDA of more than £8 million.
- UK business on a flightpath to revenue of £125 million
- UK business on a flightpath to more than £8 million adjusted EBITDA
- Grow MyAD and leverage its value
- Build a sustainable European business focused on Germany and the Netherlands
- Deploy cash under a formal capital allocation policy with a flightpath to more than 15% adjusted ROCE
- Remain angling retail’s largest responsible employer
This matters because boards do not usually upgrade targets unless they believe momentum is real. It is a vote of confidence in both the current trading model and the scalability of the UK business.
Current trading in FY27: still positive, but the pace has eased
There is one clear note of caution. Group revenue grew 9.7% in February, with UK revenue up 11.8%, but trading softened in March and April after the onset of the Middle East conflict. Group revenue in those two months increased 5.4%, while UK revenue rose 7.6%.
That is still growth, just not at the same pace. Management says extra costs such as fuel surcharges and freight have been relatively insignificant and fully mitigated so far, with no impact on FY27 guidance at this stage.
I would take that as reassuring, but not bulletproof. The company itself says the short-term implications are uncertain, so investors should expect a bit of wobble in sentiment if consumer demand weakens further.
What Angling Direct final results mean for retail investors
Overall, this is a good result. The UK business is growing nicely, margins are improving, MyAD is becoming a genuine moat, and the balance sheet is strong enough to support expansion and buybacks at the same time.
The negatives are real but manageable. Europe is still loss-making, the cash balance is lower than last year, there is no dividend, and current trading has softened from the blistering pace seen earlier. But none of that is enough to spoil the main message.
For me, the key takeaway is that Angling Direct looks like a retailer gaining market share in a tough environment, not just surviving one. When a business can grow revenue, expand margin, improve earnings and raise medium-term targets all in the same update, investors usually pay attention.
