Venture Life Reports Double-Digit Growth and Strategic Progress in Full-Year Trading Update

Venture Life’s latest trading update reads well on the whole. Revenue growth is strong, the core brand portfolio is moving in the right direction, and management says Adjusted EBITDA – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, adjusted for items such as share-based payments and exceptional costs – will be in line with market guidance.

That said, this is not a simple year-on-year comparison. The company has changed its accounting year end to 31 May, so these numbers cover a seventeen-month period rather than a standard twelve months. For investors, that means the underlying trend matters more than the headline jump.

Venture Life trading update: revenue up 30.9%, but 16.0% on a proforma basis

For the seventeen-month period to 31 May 2026, Venture Life generated revenue of £50.0 million, up 30.9% from £38.2 million in the prior comparative period. On the surface, that is a very strong number.

But the more useful figure is the proforma growth rate of 16.0%. Proforma means the company is comparing the business as if acquisitions had been owned for the full prior period too, which gives a cleaner like-for-like read.

That 16.0% increase was made up of 1.2% from price rises and 14.8% from volume growth. That matters because volume-led growth is usually healthier than simply pushing prices through. It suggests customers are actually buying more product, not just paying more for the same basket.

Key Venture Life numbers from the 17-month trading period

Metric	Value
Revenue	£50.0 million
Reported revenue growth	30.9%
Proforma revenue growth	16.0%
Growth from price	1.2%
Growth from volume	14.8%
Five-month revenue to 31 May 2026	£14.7 million
Five-month revenue growth	28.9%
Net cash at 31 May 2026	c.£12.0 million
Net cash at 31 December 2025	£34.2 million
Adjusted free cash flow	c.£5.9 million

The five-month trading momentum looks especially solid. Revenue in that period rose 28.9% to £14.7 million, which suggests the business did not simply drift through the extended reporting period and then slow down.

Venture Life Power Brands growth shows the strategy is working

The standout message in this update is that the Power Brands are doing most of the heavy lifting. These brands accounted for 91.2% of group revenue in the final five months and grew 20.7% to £13.4 million.

Across the full seventeen-month period, Power Brands revenue rose 17.0% to £46.7 million. That is important because this is the part of the portfolio management is actively backing with more advertising and promotion, or A&P, spend.

VLG Products revenue grew 20.7% in the final five months to £10.5 million, while International Partners revenue jumped 55.6% to £4.2 million. International Partners are third parties selling products using Venture Life’s underlying intellectual property under their own brands via a distributor model.

Brand performance snapshot: the winners and the softer patches

Balance Activ remains a key growth driver. Revenue rose 15.1% over the period to £12.2 million, helped by market share gains, product launches and support from Cooper Consumer Health.

Lift was one of the strongest performers, up 19.6% to £11.0 million, with the final five months up a striking 59.1%. Glucogel also grew, though more modestly, up 6.1% to £3.5 million.

Earol delivered 7.9% growth to £8.2 million, but the final five months were much stronger at 49.8%. Management points to new UK launches, stronger partner revenues, better Amazon multi-pack sales and a shift in customer behaviour from drops to spray formats.

Health & Her and Health & Him together grew 28.2% over the period. However, the latest five months were weaker on a combined basis at -3.1%, with Health & Her down 9.7% despite Health & Him still growing strongly.

That softer recent performance is worth noting. Management says the comparison was tough because the prior period included sell-in to CVS in the US, but it also admits the perimenopause category is getting more competitive and needs more A&P investment. That is honest, and investors should pay attention.

Outside the Power Brands, Pomi-T and Gelclair posted modest full-period growth of 1.2% and 5.3% respectively. Gelclair’s huge 496.4% growth in the final five months looks eye-catching, but it was helped by a significant order from a key distribution partner, so I would be careful about treating that as a new steady run-rate.

Why Venture Life’s marketing strategy matters for future profits

The company says the brands are responding positively to higher advertising and promotion spend, with return on investment under close review. Early analysis suggests its brands are more price elastic online, meaning shoppers react faster to pricing and promotional activity in digital channels.

That could be a big deal. If Venture Life can shift spend online and generate higher volume while avoiding some of the cost of in-store displays, that should support better profitability over time.

Management also flagged encouraging early signs from post-period TV campaigns for Health & Her and Balance Activ. Consumers appear to be going online to buy straight after seeing TV ads, while branded search and adjacent category engagement have also improved.

In plain English, TV may be working as a trust and discovery tool, while online does the conversion. That is a sensible blend if it keeps proving itself in the data.

Cash, acquisitions and the real reason net cash fell to c.£12.0 million

One number that might worry investors at first glance is net cash falling to c.£12.0 million from £34.2 million at 31 December 2025. On its own, that looks like a sharp deterioration.

But the main reason was an advance transfer of c.£17.5 million for the FemiClear and CUROXEN acquisition, which completed on 2 June 2026, just after the period end. The funds were released before year end to allow enough time for clearing, so this is largely a timing issue rather than a sign of operational stress.

Adjusted free cash flow was still c.£5.9 million, up from £5.1 million in the twelve months to 31 December 2025 and £4.3 million in the twelve months to 31 December 2024. That is a good sign and suggests the business is converting growth into cash reasonably well.

There were a couple of balance sheet moving parts too. Trade payables normalised after the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP rollout, while trade receivables stayed elevated because of strong April and May trading. Inventory management improved, which helped offset some of that.

Venture Life outlook: organic growth, US expansion and more M&A

The board sounds confident. It plans to keep investing in Power Brands, add more marketing, data and organisational resource, and streamline operations after the acquisition of FemiClear and CUROXEN.

Those newly acquired brands are said to be performing in line with expectations. Management is particularly upbeat about FemiClear, describing it as the clear number two in the US Femcare market, but no revenue figure for the brand is disclosed in this RNS.

The wider strategic point is clear enough. Venture Life now has a direct US foothold, and management sees that team and retailer network as a launchpad for other brands in future.

The company also says it is exploring immediately earnings-enhancing acquisition opportunities in the UK and US. That could create extra upside, but investors should remember that more deals also bring integration risk and execution pressure.

My take on the Venture Life RNS: positive update, with a few sensible caveats

I think this is a good trading update. The most encouraging features are the volume-led growth, strong recent momentum, healthy Power Brand performance and free cash flow improvement.

The less rosy bits are not severe, but they are real. Health & Her has had a softer recent patch, competition is rising in important categories, and ongoing investment in marketing and systems means management still has to prove it can turn good revenue growth into sustainably higher profits.

There is also a bit of noise from the reporting date change and the pre-completion acquisition payment, so investors should avoid overreacting to any single headline number. Even so, the broad direction of travel looks positive.

For retail investors, the simple version is this: Venture Life appears to be building a bigger, better-branded consumer healthcare business, and the strategy is starting to show up in the numbers. If management can keep the Power Brands growing, make the US expansion work and stay disciplined on returns from marketing and M&A, this update could mark another solid step forward.