Portmeirion full year performance to be in line with expectations

Portmeirion Group, the designer, manufacturer and omnichannel retailer of leading homeware brands, has said its annual sales are expected to come in marginally ahead of expectations at a minimum of £102 million.

Sales in North America and South Korea were down in the year to 30 December due to the impact of weaker consumer demand and de-stocking by the group’s major retail customers. However, the group enjoyed a “good” Christmas trading period in the market in its fourth quarter when there was stronger demand for key festive ranges.

While UK ceramic sales were flat year-on-year, Portmeirion was boosted by a strong seasonal trading period where ecommerce orders  were up 9% for the final eight weeks of FY23 compared to the prior year.

Meanwhile, ceramic sales in the rest of world were up 13% and there was growth of 24% at Wax Lyrical, the group’s  home fragrance division.

Mike Raybould, Portmeirion chief executive, said: “Although consumer market conditions have been significantly more challenging in 2023, we are encouraged by our strong Christmas trading performance in the UK and US, the continued growth in our ROW markets and the sales rebound and new business wins in our home fragrance division.

“Whilst we expect market conditions to remain challenging in the first half of 2024, particularly in the US and South Korea, we expect to see growth across the full year and we are confident in our long-term strategic progress and the market share gains we are making.”

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