Howdens Takes Market Share; Revenue and Profit Grows

Howdens has published full-year results for 2025, covering the 52 weeks to 27 December 2025.

Results Summary

Highlights

• Group revenue increased by 4.1% to £2,418.0m.
  
  o UK revenue was 3.8% ahead of last year reflecting balanced pricing and volumes along with ongoing market share gains, despite continued kitchen market headwinds. 
  
  o International revenue grew 13.5% with good progress in developing Howdens’ differentiated model in France and the Republic of Ireland. 
  
  
• Gross margins improved by 110bps to 62.7%, supported by revenue growth, ongoing sourcing and manufacturing efficiencies helping offset cost inflation.   
  
  
• Delivered £41m of productivity and efficiency savings in the total cost base.  
  
  
• Profit before tax was 5.1% ahead of last year at £344.9m, and Basic EPS was 7.9% ahead.  
  
  
• Strong cash generation and the Group continues to maintain a robust balance sheet.
  
  
• Proposed final dividend of 16.9p up 3.7%, bringing the total for the year to 21.9p.  
  
  
• New £100m share buyback announced for 2026. 

Commenting on the results Andrew Livingston, Chief Executive said:

“The business advanced on all fronts in the year. We gained market share and delivered a strong operational performance with profit growth ahead of sales. Alongside this, we continued to invest in our strategic initiatives which is helping our trade customers win more business while making our operations more efficient and productive.

“For 2026, our planning assumption is that the UK kitchen market will be level year on year, following several years of decline, in what remains a competitive marketplace. Looking further ahead we have many significant longer-term growth opportunities, and our focus remains on continuing to deliver above-market performance and enhanced returns for shareholders.”

Operational developments in 2025

• Opened 23 new UK depots, of which 18 were opened in the final two trading periods of the year, and added three depots in the international business.  
  
  
• Investment included capex of £156.5m, principally on our strategic initiatives to drive future growth. Invested in our UK manufacturing capacity and capabilities, which included a new project to upgrade our rigid cabinet and panel facility at Runcorn.   
  
  
• Completed 60 depot reformats (including relocations). Introduced 24 new kitchen ranges in 2025 to suit all budgets as we continue to build out the significant opportunities to expand our entry-level, mid-priced and premium kitchens. 
  
  
• Launched a new pricing and margin (‘PAM’) tool enabling depots to optimise their pricing with improvements in depot margins since launch. In France, we continued to focus on optimising the depot network and the team capabilities with good progress made during the year. 
  
  
• The Republic of Ireland is establishing itself as a strong competitor in our categories and we opened another three depots, bringing the total to 16 by the end of the year

Outlook

• For 2026, our planning assumption is that the UK kitchen market will be level year on year, following several years of decline, in what remains a competitive marketplace.  
  
  
• As we deliver day-to-day value for our trade customers, we will aim to retain a profitable balance between price and volume, alongside continued cost discipline. 
  
  
• We believe our model is the right one to address the medium-term opportunities in our markets. We are well prepared for the year ahead and well placed to outperform our competitors. 
  
  
• Our year-to-date performance has been in line with our expectations and, while it is early in the new financial year, we remain on track to meet current market expectations for FY20261. 

Click here to download the full results publication

Source : Howdens

Image : Howdens

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