INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2024
FW Thorpe Plc – a group of companies that design, manufacture and supply professional lighting systems – is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2024.
Financial highlights:
| Interim 2025 (unaudited) | Interim 2024 (unaudited) | Change | |
| Revenue | £83.8m | £82.6m | +1.4% |
| Operating profit (before acquisition adjustments)* | £12.6m | £12.3m | +2.4% |
| Operating profit | £11.5m | £11.2m | +3.0% |
| Profit before tax | £11.2m | £10.7m | +4.6% |
| Basic earnings per share | 7.65p | 7.31p | +4.7% |
*Acquisition adjustments include amortisation of intangible assets.
- Interim dividend 1.76p (Interim 2024: 1.70p) – 3.5% increase
- Steady results for the period with growth at Thorlux and Zemper, supporting overall increase in revenues and operating profit
- Improved performance at the majority of the UK companies
- Dutch companies struggling to match the strong performance of last year
- Strong cash flow generation with net cash from operating activities of £15.0m (Interim 2024: £14.0m)
CHAIRMAN’S INTERIM STATEMENT
The results for the interim period, ending 31 December 2024, are in line with the Board’s expectations, with varying but generally positive performances groupwide.
Thorlux Lighting and Zemper started the year very positively, while all other UK companies showed a pleasing upturn. Lightronics has so far been unable to match the record figures of the previous financial year, whilst SchahlLED’s performance has been impacted by the ongoing recession in Germany, which has particularly affected the industrial sector. TRT Lighting’s efforts to boost order income are yielding positive results, although the company remains loss-making at the half year point.
The Board continues to invest into new product development across the Group, with emphasis on technical innovations that provide environmentally friendly solutions to our customers. Additionally, the Group also continues to strengthen its local sales and project management capabilities, enhancing the customer’s journey from selection of products through to installation, commissioning, and after-sales support.
While major production investments were limited during the period, the Board has recently approved an investment into new machinery for the Thorlux factory. These upgrades will speed up operations whilst saving significant amounts of energy, reducing costs and environmental impact. Thorlux has also placed orders to refresh its transport fleet with newer, more efficient vehicles, including its first fully electric delivery vans.
Given the increasing technological sophistication of our internal and lighting-based systems, I am pleased that Thorlux achieved independent certification of these systems to ISO 27001, the internationally recognised standard for information security management. Where appropriate, some of these system foundations are also being transferred to the smaller Group companies to enhance their security too.
As a result of the Group’s ongoing performance and its strong balance sheet, the Board has approved an interim dividend of 1.76p per share (interim 2024: 1.70p), representing a 3.5% increase.
At the time of writing, the Group’s order book remains strong, and revenue is marginally ahead of last year. Forecast rising costs, mainly due to wage and National Insurance increases, will be offset by certain material cost reductions and efficiency improvements. As a result, the Board anticipates a marginal improvement in profit for the financial year ending June 2025.
The Board continues to assess the opportunities to maximise returns from the Company’s strong balance sheet, which may include share buybacks where it considers that the share price significantly undervalues the Company’s current position and future prospects.
Mike Allcock
Chairman