The Pebble Group HY 2025 Results: Margin Growth and Shareholder Returns Amid Revenue Dip

Pebble Group HY 2025: resilient margins, heavy cash returns, softer top line

Here is the short take. The Pebble Group’s half-year numbers are solid in a wobbly market. Revenue dipped 3.6% to £58.6m, but gross margin improved again to 45.1%. Cash generation funded sizeable shareholder returns – £11.7m year to date – while Facilisgroup accelerated new customer wins. Management guides FY 2025 to be in line with market expectations.

Key numbers investors should know

Metric	HY 25	HY 24	Change
Revenue	£58.6m	£60.8m	-4%
Gross profit margin	45.1%	44.7%	+0.4ppt
Operating profit	£2.8m	£3.2m	-12%
Profit before tax	£2.6m	£2.9m	-10%
Adjusted EBITDA	£6.2m	£7.4m	-16%
Basic EPS	1.24p	1.36p	-9%
Adjusted basic EPS	1.21p	1.87p	-35%
Net cash (period end)	£6.0m	£4.9m	+£1.1m
Capital returned in HY	£5.2m	£2.6m	+£2.6m

Definitions: Adjusted EBITDA strips out depreciation, amortisation and share-based payment credit. It is a management measure used to track underlying trading. EPS is earnings per share.

Divisional deep dive: Facilisgroup and Brand Addition

Facilisgroup: faster new partner wins, FX drag on reported revenue

• Revenue £8.6m (HY 24: £8.9m). In USD (its home currency) revenue was flat; the £0.3m decline reflects foreign exchange.
• Adjusted EBITDA £3.8m (HY 24: £4.2m) with a 44% margin (HY 24: 47%), reflecting planned investment in sales and leadership.
• 18 new Partners added to date in 2025 – a 50% increase versus the same period in 2024 – taking Partner numbers to 248 as at 7 September 2025 (31 December 2024: 239).
• Underlying Partner retention 97% (1 acquired, 2 exited by Facilisgroup, 6 underlying attrition).
• GMV up 4% to USD753m (HY 24: USD724m) and Preferred Supplier Purchases up 1% to USD242m.

Quick explainer: GMV is “gross merchandise value” – the total value of orders flowing through the platform. Preferred Supplier Activity Fees are paid by contracted suppliers based on Partner purchases. Management notes the “start, stop, restart” timing of 2025 tariffs has made this fee stream less predictable than usual.

My view: this is the growth engine. Flat USD revenue with rising GMV and step-up in new Partner wins suggests the 2023-24 product build and the 2025 sales push are working. FX masked progress in GBP. If the 18 new Partners bed in, revenue should start to show up from FY 2026, as the company hints.

Brand Addition: margins doing the heavy lifting

• Revenue £50.0m (HY 24: £51.9m), reflecting softer spend by some existing clients as marketing budgets stay tight. New 2024 contract wins partially offset the decline.
• Gross margin up to 35.6% (HY 24: 35.3%), continuing a multi-period improvement.
• Adjusted EBITDA £3.8m (HY 24: £4.6m). Cost discipline is evident, but lower sales hit EBITDA.
• Orders for FY 25 stood at £82.3m as at 7 September 2025, slightly behind the prior year. The Board still expects full-year revenue to be in line with FY 24.

My view: in a sticky macro, holding revenue broadly flat for the year while improving gross margin is a decent outcome. The model remains cash generative with high client retention, but it is H2-weighted by nature, so execution through Q3-Q4 matters.

Cash, balance sheet and shareholder returns

• Net cash at 30 June 2025 was £6.0m (30 June 2024: £4.9m; 31 December 2024: £16.5m). Working capital outflow of £7.2m reflects normal seasonal build, which peaks in Q3.
• Capital expenditure £2.3m (HY 24: £3.7m), principally the Facilisgroup digital commerce platform – a planned step-down from 2023-24 levels.
• Dividend of 1.85p per share for FY 24 paid in March 2025 (£3.0m). No interim dividend planned; FY 25 dividend decision due March 2026.
• Share buyback of £2.2m in HY 25 and a post-period Tender Offer of £6.5m at 61p completed on 11 August 2025, cancelling 10,655,737 shares. Total capital returned so far in 2025: £11.7m.
• Post-period net cash stood at £1.2m as at 8 September 2025. The Group also has a £10m revolving credit facility to February 2029.

My view: this is an unusually generous capital return profile for an AIM company in a softer trading patch. It signals confidence in cash generation and in the business model, though it naturally reduces the cash cushion near term.

Guidance and governance updates

• Board expects FY 25 results to be in line with market expectations.
• Assumes Brand Addition delivers FY 25 revenue broadly in line with FY 24, with current gross margin run rates and cost commitments maintained.
• Appointment of Markus Bihler as Independent Non-Executive Director, with Stuart Warriner stepping down after almost six years.

What looks good, and what to watch

Positives

• Margin momentum: Group gross margin up to 45.1% and Brand Addition at 35.6% despite revenue pressure.
• Facilisgroup momentum: 18 new Partners, GMV +4%, high retention – evidence that recent investment is paying off.
• Cash returns: £11.7m returned year to date through dividend, buyback and tender – supportive for per-share metrics over time.
• Balance sheet flexibility: still net cash post tender and a long-dated £10m facility.

Watch outs

• Top-line softness: Group revenue -4% and Adjusted EBITDA -16%. Adjusted EPS down 35% to 1.21p in HY 25.
• H2 reliance: Brand Addition is seasonally weighted to the second half; order conversion must land to meet guidance.
• Preferred Supplier fee variability and tariff timing make Facilisgroup’s non-subscription revenue less predictable than in prior years.
• FX translation: USD stability doesn’t always read through to GBP, as seen this half.
• Lower cash buffer post returns: net cash £1.2m at 8 September 2025, so continued working capital discipline remains important.

Segment scorecard at a glance

• Facilisgroup: revenue £8.6m; Adjusted EBITDA £3.8m; margin 44%; partners 248; GMV USD753m; Preferred Supplier Purchases USD242m.
• Brand Addition: revenue £50.0m; gross profit £17.8m; gross margin 35.6%; Adjusted EBITDA £3.8m.

Why this matters for shareholders

The investment case hangs on two pillars: Brand Addition’s durable, cash generative contracts and Facilisgroup’s scalable, high-margin, subscription-led model. HY 25 shows both are intact. The company is trading through a period of constrained marketing budgets while still expanding margins and returning meaningful cash. The share count reduction through buybacks and the tender offer should be earnings accretive as trading normalises.

On the flip side, adjusted earnings took a step back this half, and the outlook relies on a clean H2 in Brand Addition and continued Partner momentum at Facilisgroup. If those deliver, the “in line” full-year guide looks achievable.

What I’m watching next

• Monthly new Partner cadence at Facilisgroup and the conversion of GMV growth into higher subscription and supplier fee income.
• Brand Addition order intake in Q3 and early Q4, and whether gross margin holds at 35%+.
• Cash conversion as the working capital peak unwinds, and net cash trajectory post tender.
• Any update on further capital allocation – more returns versus selective organic investment.

Overall verdict: a steady set of numbers with improving quality of earnings and clear capital discipline. Not exciting on revenue growth yet, but the building blocks for future earnings growth – especially at Facilisgroup – are falling into place.