Ultimate Products PLC Reports FY25 Profit Decline and Considers AIM Listing Move

FY25 results: revenue resilient, profits squeezed

Ultimate Products, the owner of Salter and Beldray, delivered audited FY25 numbers in line with market expectations. Revenue slipped 3% to £150.1m as the post‑pandemic air‑fryer boom faded and opportunistic “close‑out” parcels dried up. Profitability took the hit: shipping costs rose and the sales mix shifted towards lower‑margin channels.

Key metric	FY25	FY24	Change
Revenue	£150.1m	£155.5m	-3%
Gross profit	£34.8m	£40.5m	-14%
Gross margin	23.2%	26.0%	-2.8ppts
Adjusted EBITDA	£12.5m	£18.0m	-31%
Adjusted PBT	£8.7m	£14.4m	-40%
Statutory PBT	£8.0m	£14.3m	-44%
Adjusted EPS	7.4p	12.3p	-40%
Dividend per share	3.70p	7.38p	-50%
Operating cash from activities	£10.3m	£18.5m	-44%
Net bank debt	£14.1m	£10.4m	+£3.7m
Net bank debt / Adjusted EBITDA	1.1x	0.6x	+0.5x

Adjusted measures exclude share‑based payments and non‑recurring items, notably £640k of ERP implementation costs in the year.

What moved the numbers: air fryers, close‑outs and freight

The top line fell by £5.4m, but the story is really about mix. Air‑fryer sales – a pandemic-era winner – were down £4.8m (-32%). Third‑party close‑out parcels shrank by £8.8m (-60%) as industry overstocking unwound. Against that, “all remaining” sales rose £8.2m (+6%), a healthier base to build on.

Gross margin tightened to 23.2% due to an extra £3.1m of shipping costs and mix effects. Elevated ocean freight through calendar 2024 (linked to Red Sea disruption) added around £2.0m, and a higher proportion of own‑sourced goods increased absolute freight. Close‑out sales, while lower quality and one‑off in nature, typically carry higher margins – their decline also pressured the percentage.

Brands and channels: Beldray shines, supermarkets recover

Brands remain the engine. Owned brands accounted for 81% of sales and grew 4% to £121.9m. Within that:

• Beldray rose 11% to £38.0m, helped by a full rebrand and product wins such as the Beldray All‑in‑One Floor Cleaner, recently named a Which? Best Buy.
• Salter fell 8% to £52.0m, but management note this was mainly the air‑fryer effect; excluding that, Salter would have been flat.
• Licensed Russell Hobbs cookware increased 19% to £14.4m as German supermarket overstocking eased.

Looking through the temporary air‑fryer and close‑out swings, underlying channel trends were encouraging:

• Supermarkets up 18% to about £40.4m, with UK supermarkets particularly strong (+26%).
• Discounters up 8% overall, but with a split: Europe +42% to £29m, UK down 34% after a customer shifted to own‑label.
• Online up 4%, and the Group’s own sites – salter.com and beldray.com – jumped 51% to £2.1m.

By category, Small Domestic Appliances edged up 1% to £59.0m despite the air‑fryer drop, and Housewares returned to growth, up 11% to £45.2m. Audio fell 16% after a European customer insourced some own‑label equipment.

Cash, debt and dividends: steady footing, smaller payout

Operating cash generation was £10.3m, equating to 82% conversion. Inventory reduced 11% to £32.5m, helped by a 37% fall in Goods‑in‑Transit as supply chains normalised. Net bank debt closed at £14.1m, taking leverage to 1.1x Adjusted EBITDA – just above the Board’s 1.0x target.

The dividend follows the capital allocation policy of returning about 50% of post‑tax profits. The total FY25 dividend is 3.70p per share (FY24: 7.38p). With leverage a touch above target, the share buyback is paused.

Operational upgrades: systems and senior bench strength

Ultimate Products continued its “continuous improvement” programme. New Product Information Management (PIM) software is already cutting error rates and training times, and improving product content. The next big step is a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, expected to go live in FY27, with an estimated total cost of around £2m; £640k was expensed in FY25. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module will form part of the ERP, with a temporary CRM in place meantime.

Leadership depth was bolstered: two Non‑Executive Directors joined the Board, and five internal promotions strengthened the Operating Board and C‑suite across commercial, supply chain, operations, product and marketing.

AIM listing proposal: moving to a better‑fit market

The Board has concluded that, at the Company’s current market capitalisation, AIM – the London Stock Exchange’s growth market – would be the most suitable listing venue. Shareholders will vote on a move from the Main Market to AIM at the AGM on 12 December 2025. Further updates will follow.

What matters for investors: a listing venue change does not alter the underlying business, but it can align the company with a market more tailored to its size and stage. The timetable and detailed rationale will be worth watching.

Outlook and consensus: near‑term caution, medium‑term ambition

Current trading is in line with market expectations. Management expects external headwinds to persist in the short term, but believes the operational changes now underway will position the Group to capture growth as conditions improve, both in the UK and internationally.

For context, consensus for FY26 sits at £137.7m revenue, £9.9m Adjusted EBITDA and 5.2p Adjusted EPS.

My take: what’s good, what’s not, and what to watch

Positives

• Underlying growth where it matters: owned brands up 4% and supermarkets rebounding strongly when stripping out the air‑fryer and close‑out noise.
• Clear productivity agenda: PIM already delivering benefits; ERP/CRM should add more leverage over time.
• International momentum: excluding the wind‑down items, Europe grew 20%, with discounters up 42% to £29m.

Negatives

• Margin pressure: gross margin fell 2.8 percentage points due to freight and mix; a reminder that logistics and channel mix can swing outcomes.
• Profit reset: Adjusted PBT down 40% and the dividend halved to reflect lower earnings.
• Leverage nudged up to 1.1x, prompting a pause in buybacks.

Watch‑list for FY26

• Freight and sourcing costs as Red Sea impacts unwind further.
• Execution of the sales function upgrades and the roll‑out of ERP/CRM.
• European discounter growth vs any UK customer mix changes.
• Shareholder decision on the move to AIM at the December AGM.

Bottom line

FY25 was a year of moving parts: temporary category declines and fewer close‑out parcels dragged margins, but the core brand engine kept growing and supermarkets re‑accelerated. With a tighter operational set‑up, a stronger leadership team and sensible balance sheet discipline, Ultimate Products looks set to grind through the near‑term headwinds. Delivery against the sales upgrades – and a clean execution of the listing venue change, if approved – will be the next credibility tests.