Norcros PLC, a leading designer and supplier of high-quality bathroom and kitchen products in the UK, Europe, and South African markets, has provided a trading update ahead of its full-year results announcement for the year ended 31 March 2024. The Group expects its underlying operating profit for the year to be in line with market expectations, demonstrating the strength of its business in a challenging demand environment.

The overall Group revenue for the year ended 31 March 2024 is expected to be approximately £390 million, 11.1% below the prior year on a reported basis and 6.1% below on a constant currency ("CC") like-for-like ("LFL") basis. The UK business performed robustly, with revenue 3.3% below the prior year on a LFL basis, driven by ongoing portfolio management, new product development, and positioning within the more resilient mid-premium segment of the RMI market.

In South Africa, despite challenging market conditions exacerbated by significant and unpredictable power interruptions in H1, the business performed resiliently. The reported revenue for the year was 12.3% lower than the prior year on a CC basis. The local management team has implemented proactive self-help initiatives, and the recovery in demand is expected to be gradual despite improved power availability.

The Group remains in a strong financial position, with net debt at 31 March 2024 expected to be circa £37 million, representing leverage of less than 0.9x underlying EBITDA. Norcros has also achieved validation and approval from the Science Based Targets initiative ("SBTi") for its Near Term and Net Zero emission targets, demonstrating its commitment to reducing emissions.

Thomas Willcocks, Chief Executive Officer, expressed confidence in the Group's ability to deliver profitable market share growth in the year ahead, stating, "The Group's focus on continuing portfolio management, our collective organic growth accelerators, and scale-based operational efficiencies will continue to deliver profitable market share growth in the year ahead."

The Group will announce its full-year results for the year ended 31 March 2024 on Thursday 13 June 2024, with a Capital Markets Event scheduled for Wednesday 1 May 2024. For further details, interested parties can contact [email protected].