Portmeirion warns on £3.5m loss as US tariffs bite

(Sharecast News) - Homeware brands business Portmeirion Group said on Tuesday that it expects to report a headline pretax loss of around �3.5m for 2025, reflecting the impact of US import tariffs, higher energy and labour costs, and shortterm effects from its ongoing transformation plan.

Portmeirion said fullyear group sales were set to come in at roughly �91m, up 1% yearonyear at constant currency, while, excluding the US, its largest and most profitable market, where trading was hit by tariffs, sales rose 8%.

The London-listed company said it had implemented a series of strategic measures over the year, including changes to its US product offer and distribution, reducing excess and endofline inventory, and making initial margin investments to accelerate its Made in StokeonTrent onshoring initiative. It also highlighted upfront spending to support future growth opportunities.

Net debt stood at �17.5m at 31 December, compared with �12.1m a year earlier, with the increase driven by its fullyear loss, higher cash costs linked to US imports, and the affect of tariffs on yearend US stock values. Portmeirion said these factors had offset progress in reducing excess inventory and improving cash collection.

Chief executive Mike Raybould said: "We took bold decisions in April to position our business for long term growth, resetting certain customer relationships, changing how we work and reinvigorating our approach.

"Despite the material disruption of the significant tariffs in the US, we were successful in getting our customers into stock of our seasonal ranges earlier than last year and have seen strong sell through, ahead of last year, over the festive season."

As of 1000 GMT, Portmeirion shares were up 2.56% at 100p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com