Howden Joinery Group Plc delivered steady growth in 2025, with revenue and profits rising despite ongoing challenges in the UK kitchen market.
© Graeme Baty | Dreamstime
For the 52 weeks to 27 December 2025:
- Group revenue increased 4.1% to £2.418 billion (2024: £2.322bn).
- UK revenue rose 3.8% to £2.333bn (2.6% on a same-depot basis).
- International revenue grew 13.5% to £84.8m (9.3% same-depot growth in local currency).
- Gross margin improved by 110 basis points to 62.7%, driving gross profit to £1.515bn.
- Operating profit rose 4.7% to £355.3m, with an operating margin of 14.7%.
- Profit before tax increased 5.1% to £344.9m; basic EPS rose 7.9% to 49.2p.
Cash generation remained strong at £537.6m before working capital, with year-end cash of £344.5m. Total capital expenditure was £156.5m, including a £31m purchase of the Runcorn manufacturing site. Excluding this one-off, capex was £125.5m, supporting new depots, digital systems, and manufacturing upgrades.
The company opened 23 new UK depots in 2025 (18 in the last two trading periods), bringing the total to 891, while reformatted 60 depots. Investments continued in Runcorn's rigid cabinet and panel facility to increase capacity and reduce costs over time.
CEO Andrew Livingston highlighted market share gains and operational efficiency improvements. Looking ahead, Howdens expects the UK kitchen market to remain flat in 2026, with £30m of inflationary cost pressures mitigated by productivity gains.
This performance reflects Howdens' trade-only, differentiated model, which has enabled growth in a competitive and slowly recovering market.
Source: www.kbbreview.com
