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Camellia swings to £1.0m trading profit in FY25, with VEP progress and balance sheet strength, but statutory losses remain.
This article covers information on Camellia PLC.
LON:CAMCamellia’s 2025 final results look better than 2024 on the measures that matter most for a business trying to steady the ship. The headline improvement is the swing to a £1.0 million trading profit from a £5.5 million trading loss a year earlier. That suggests the company’s Value Enhancement Plan, or VEP, is starting to do what management said it would do.
That said, this is not a clean “everything is fixed” set of results. EBITDA – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – fell to £11.3 million from £14.8 million, net assets dropped to £329.5 million, and the group still made a £4.2 million loss after tax from continuing operations. So the tone here is improving, not finished.
| Metric | FY25 | FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue from continuing operations | £268.0 million | £262.2 million |
| Trading profit / (loss) | £1.0 million | (£5.5 million) |
| Operating profit | £1.2 million | £2.2 million |
| Profit before tax | £3.0 million | £0.0 million |
| Adjusted loss before tax | (£2.0 million) | (£7.0 million) |
| Loss after tax from continuing operations | (£4.2 million) | (£4.7 million) |
| EBITDA | £11.3 million | £14.8 million |
| Net cash, treasury deposits, gilts and money market investments | £133.6 million | £124.7 million |
| Final ordinary dividend | 260p | 260p |
For me, the most encouraging bit is the move back into trading profit. Camellia called this its key measure of trading performance, and it improved by £6.5 million year on year. That tells you management’s early actions on costs, asset quality and operational efficiency are having an effect on the underlying business.
Revenue also edged up to £268.0 million, helped by a mix of management action, some better pricing and, in certain cases, stronger production volumes. Gross profit improved to £55.8 million from £49.0 million, which is another useful sign that trading conditions were better than the prior year.
But investors should not ignore the softer spots. Operating profit actually fell to £1.2 million from £2.2 million, and EBITDA declined. That tells you the recovery is uneven and still vulnerable to one-off items, investment timing and the realities of running a global agriculture portfolio.
The VEP was announced in May 2025, and Camellia says 2025 was the “foundation year”. So far, the plan seems sensible: improve profitability, reduce risk and invest in growth. Those are the right priorities for a company with a lot of land, a lot of moving parts and a history of patchy returns.
There has been real movement on disposals. Camellia sold two tea gardens in India during the year, sold eight UK investment properties in 2025, and after the year end disposed of Linton Park and some UK artwork for total proceeds of £14.7 million, generating £5.0 million of disposal profits. It also said the disposal of UK investment properties is now largely complete.
That matters because selling non-core or consistently unprofitable assets should improve focus and, over time, return on assets. Put simply, a leaner portfolio has a better chance of producing steadier profits.
One of the more reassuring parts of this update is the balance sheet. Year-end net cash, treasury deposits, gilts and money market investments rose to £133.6 million from £124.7 million. That gives Camellia options.
There is a wrinkle, though. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period fell to £54.1 million from £83.8 million. That sounds worse than it really is because some liquidity has clearly been shifted into treasury deposits, gilts and money market investments rather than vanishing.
Operating cash flow also improved. Net cash generated from operating activities was £7.0 million, up from £3.3 million. That is not spectacular, but it is moving in the right direction.
The board has proposed a final ordinary dividend of 260p per share, unchanged from last year. That will mean a £6.5 million cash outflow if approved at the AGM.
My view is mixed here. On the positive side, maintaining the dividend shows confidence and reflects the strong balance sheet. On the negative side, the dividend is being funded out of reserves, not current year profits, and the group is still loss-making after tax. Income investors may welcome the payout, but they should also recognise it is not yet being covered by earnings.
This is where the story gets more interesting. Camellia has committed around £15.0 million of capital from 2026 to 2031 across four projects, targeting £35.0 million of new revenue by 2034. Importantly, these projects sit on existing land and use existing infrastructure and management teams, which should help returns.
The standout number is management’s comment that avocado production at the Tanzanian farm could generate around £17.0 million per annum by 2034. That is a long way off, but it shows why Camellia is trying to pivot towards assets with stronger growth and better economics than mature tea exposure.
Camellia is refreshingly blunt that it cannot give a meaningful forward-looking view at this stage of the year. That is not ideal for investors, but it is honest. Management says it will try to give an indication in its September interim update.
The risk list is substantial. Tea remains an issue, weather remains an issue, and the ongoing US/Israeli-Iran conflict is affecting fuel, energy, fertiliser, chemicals, logistics and tea markets in the Middle East. Camellia specifically flagged the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, which is a serious reminder that global agriculture groups can be hit from multiple angles at once.
That is also why the portfolio reshaping matters. Reducing dependence on tea and improving irrigation in Brazil is not just strategy theatre – it is practical risk management.
I think these results are cautiously positive. The business is not yet delivering the kind of profitability most investors would want, but the underlying direction looks better. A swing back to trading profit, stronger operating cash generation, solid liquidity and meaningful strategic progress are all good signs.
The less cheerful side is that statutory losses remain, EBITDA fell, net assets declined and the dividend is still being paid from reserves. So this is still a turnaround with work to do, not a polished growth story.
For retail investors, the key question is whether 2026 brings another step up in trading profit without compromising the balance sheet. If it does, the VEP starts to look credible. If not, patience may wear thin.
Investors who want the full detail can read the 2025 annual report and presentation on the company website. Camellia also said investors can register for its results presentation via Investor Meet Company.
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