Strong FY Results for Norcros; Significant Strategic Progress

Norcros plc, the number one branded bathroom products business in the UK and Ireland, today announces its results for the 53 weeks ended 5 April 2026 (prior period: 52 weeks ended 30 March 2025). 

Financial highlights 

• Group revenue up 10.6% in a challenging market; driven by the acquisition of Fibo and market share gains
  
  
• Group underlying operating profit¹ up 7.9% to £48.0m (2025: £44.5m); Fibo acquisition and strong UK&I performance
  
  o  Group operating margin at 12.2% (2025: 12.5%) slightly lower, as expected, following Fibo acquisition. However European (previously UK&I) like-for-like ("LFL") operating margins up 0.4% to 15.9%
  
  o  Underlying profit before tax¹ up 8.2% to £40.9m (2025: £37.8m)
  
  
• Excellent cash conversion of 116% (2025: 84%) with underlying net debt of £65.8m (1.2x leverage) demonstrating the Group's ability to rapidly reduce leverage following debt funded acquisitions
  
  o  Underlying return on capital employed¹ (ROCE) up 2.7% to 20.0%
  
  o  EPS (diluted and underlying) up 7.2% to 35.8p (2025: 33.4p)
  
  o  Full year dividend increased by 8.7% (+0.9p) to 11.3p per share

Operational and Strategic highlights

• Ahead-of-market organic revenue growth, driven by new product launches, cross-selling and high service levels
  
  
• Regulatory tailwinds supporting sustainability-related market share gains; 2028 SBTi carbon targets already met  
  
  
• Ongoing investment in systems infrastructure driving simplification, with service and efficiency gains
  
  
• Completed the acquisition of the highly complementary and earnings accretive Fibo business in Norway
  
  
• Exited tile manufacturing through the closure of Johnson Tiles South Africa
  
  
• Post year-end, announced the intention to explore options to sell the Group's remaining South African business 

Current trading and outlook 

Group revenue in the two months to the end of May 2026 was 3.1% ahead of the prior year on a constant currency like for like basis, adjusting for Johnson Tiles SA and the acquisition of Fibo. Market conditions are likely to remain subdued, with the pace of any recovery in the new build sector still unclear. The mid-premium RMI sector currently remains more resilient and the Board's expectations for FY27 are unchanged. 

Thomas Willcocks, CEO, commented: 

"The past year has been pivotal for Norcros as we delivered another strong set of results alongside significant strategic progress to reshape and strengthen the Group for the long term. We have seen a strong performance across our core European markets supported by the successful acquisition of Fibo in Norway. Margins have again improved in the UK and Ireland offset by a softer performance in South Africa, increased Group investment to support growth initiatives, and as expected, some initial margin dilution from the Fibo acquisition. 

Our businesses have leading branded market positions, well-invested inventory levels and deep supplier and customer relationships. This, together with our collective scale, means we are able to perform through periods of volatility and to take market share opportunities that arise at times such as these. 

We have further simplified the Group's portfolio and increased exposure to the more resilient mid-premium markets, taking a number of important strategic steps during the year as we continue to sharpen the Group's focus on sustainable bathroom products. 

We continue to build momentum, with share gains and progress being made across our strategic priorities. Supported by our strong financial position and proven through-cycle model, whilst market conditions remain uncertain, we are confident in our ability to deliver further progress towards our medium-term ambitions in the year ahead." 

Continuing Operations - Financial Summary

¹  Definitions and reconciliations of alternative performance measures are provided in note 5

²  Like-for-like ("LFL") adjusted from a 53 to 52 week period, Fibo which was acquired in the current year, and Johnson Tiles UK which was sold in the prior year

³   Discontinued Johnson Tiles SA is not included in the income statement in the current or prior year figures, consistent throughout this announcement. Note 8 provides further details on the results of discontinued operations

⁴  Operating profit is stated after acquisition and disposal related costs (the prior year included costs of £22.2m relating to the disposal of Johnson Tiles UK), exceptional operating items and IAS 19R administrative expenses. Details are contained later in this statement

⁵  Net debt is on an underlying basis and is net of cash, capitalised costs of raising finance and total borrowings. IFRS 16 lease commitments are not included

Chief Executive Officer's Review 

• Strong financial performance, clear platform for sustained growth

Norcros delivered another strong performance this year, continuing to execute our strategy and further strengthening the quality of our business portfolio. Despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty, our differentiated model, strong brands and disciplined execution helped us grow market share and deliver in line with our plans.

Scale matters. Our businesses hold leading positions in their markets, underpinned by well-invested inventory and strong customer relationships. Together, these strengths give us resilience through periods of volatility and create opportunities to gain market share.

We continue to make excellent progress against our strategic targets having achieved all but the operating margin target:

• Organic growth at 2% - 3% above the market
• Group underlying operating profit margin to reach 15%
• Cash conversion greater than 90%
• Return on capital employed greater than 20%
• Delivery of SBTi-validated science-based emissions targets by 2028

Our operating margin target is well within our reach, and we expect to deliver this in the medium term as Fibo margins improve and we find new shareholders for our remaining South African assets. The strategic targets will be reset at this time. The material progress against our financial targets has been driven by our clear ongoing focus on the four pillars that we shared at our capital markets event in May 2023, supporting the Group's development and long-term value creation.

Portfolio development

Portfolio development remains central to our strategy, helping us build a capital-light, cash-generative Group with exposure to attractive mid-premium segments. During the year, we completed the acquisition of Fibo in Norway, a highly complementary business with strong branded positions and attractive margins. Fibo broadens our scale, extends our geographic reach and strengthens our product capability. It will also be materially earnings accretive in its first full year of ownership.

The Group also completed the closure of Johnson Tiles South Africa, marking our exit from tile manufacturing and further improving our portfolio's capital efficiency and resilience. The Board is also now exploring potential sale options of the wider South African business as we continue to sharpen our focus on the European bathroom market in line with our strategy.

Acquisitions remain an important part of our growth strategy. We maintain a well-developed pipeline across our core UK and Ireland markets and selected international geographies, focused on complementary, scalable businesses capable of delivering attractive returns under Norcros ownership.

Organic growth

Alongside portfolio development, organic growth remains a core driver of value creation. Across the Group, we delivered ahead-of-market revenue growth, supported by new product development, cross-selling and high service levels.

Our scale across brands and channels continues to support innovation and range expansion, whilst our mid-premium positioning gives us resilience in softer market conditions. Continued investment in people, customer relationships and product capability will remain important to supporting medium-term growth.

In FY26 Q4, we announced that we will begin formalising the collaboration between VADO and MERLYN to create and offer a range of complete bathroom ranges that look great, are easier to install and give our customers a powerful choice when it comes to intentionally lowering their impact on the environment. This improved service offer will be supported by our investment in our systems infrastructure that will help deliver these bathrooms in a simpler and more efficient manner. The project is at an early stage, and we expect benefits to start to flow through in the second half of 2027.  

Operational excellence

Supporting both portfolio development and organic growth, operational excellence underpins profitable growth at scale. We continue to improve service, reduce complexity and drive efficiency across the Group. Targeted investment in systems infrastructure is improving stock availability, customer service and operational leverage.

The benefits of scale are increasingly visible in logistics, freight procurement and inventory management, supporting margin delivery and resilience. These initiatives remain an important enabler of our strategy and a clear point of differentiation in fragmented markets.

ESG and people

Alongside commercial and operational progress, our ESG priorities (people, product, and planet) remains integral to how we operate and grow. We have delivered a reduction of 65% in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2023 and are ahead of our 2028 SBTi carbon reduction target for Scopes 1 and 2. This has been achieved through a wide range of emissions reduction projects and transitioning the Group away from tiles to less carbon-intensive alternative products. We will reset our science-based targets to ensure they remain robust, relevant and aligned with the Group's future footprint.

Our people agenda is a real strength. The Group has seen strong engagement and recognition through the Great Place to Work programme, achieving accreditation in our major regions and reflecting the common culture that is being embedded across our businesses. During the year, we completed the Group wide rollout of our Purpose and Keys, reinforcing the shared behaviours that support collaboration, accountability and performance across the Group.

Maintaining high standards of governance and transparency remains a priority for the Board and Executive team. We were pleased to receive Best Employment Engagement Strategy from the Corp Comms Awards and Best Annual Report from the Investor Relations Society, recognising the quality of last year's Annual Report and our commitment to clear, balanced, high-quality reporting for all stakeholders.

Farewell

On behalf of the Board and the wider Norcros team, I would like to thank James Eyre, our Chief Financial Officer, who, as previously announced, will be leaving the business after 12 years of service. I have known and worked closely with James throughout that time, particularly since I stepped into the CEO role three years ago. He has made a significant and valued contribution to Norcros, initially leading our acquisition strategy before becoming CFO. His dedication and leadership will leave a lasting mark, and he has played an important role in shaping Norcros into the market-leading bathroom products business it is today. We wish James and his family well for the future.

The search process for James's successor has commenced. Andy Hamer, currently UK and Ireland Finance Director and previously Group Financial Controller, will take on the additional non-Board role of interim CFO until this process has been successfully concluded and we will update the market on progress in due course.

Outlook

Trading performance through the first two months of the year reflects continued market share gains, supported by the strength of our brands, service levels and scale benefits across the Group.

Group revenue in the two months to the end of May 2026 was 3.1% ahead of the prior year on a constant currency like for like basis, adjusting for Johnson Tiles SA and the acquisition of Fibo. Market conditions are likely to remain subdued, with the pace of any recovery in the new build sector still unclear, however, the RMI sector is currently more resilient and the Board's expectations for FY27 remain unchanged.

Whilst market conditions remain uncertain and the pace of any recovery in new build remains unclear, the RMI sector remains more resilient. Our scale, market positioning, and strong balance sheet leave us well placed to manage short-term volatility whilst continuing to execute our growth strategy.

A business built to grow

Our strategy is clear, focused, and built on four pillars: portfolio development, organic growth, operational excellence and ESG. Together, these strengths give Norcros resilience and the ability to keep taking share through the quality of our brands, operational depth and well-invested inventory. As a result, the Group is well positioned to continue growing, strengthening its portfolio and delivering sustainable long-term value for all stakeholders.

Source : Norcros

Image : Norcros

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.