COLEFAX GROUP PLC
(“Colefax” or the “Group”)
Half Year Results for the six months ended 31 October 2025
Colefax is an international designer and distributor of furnishing fabrics & wallpapers and owns a leading interior decorating business. The Group trades under five brand names, serving different segments of the soft furnishings marketplace; these are Colefax and Fowler, Cowtan & Tout, Jane Churchill, Manuel Canovas and Larsen.
Highlights
- Group sales up 11.7% to £58.96 million (2024: £52.79 million) and up 13.6% on a constant currency basis
- Group profit before tax up 21.3% to £5.29 million (2024: £4.36 million)
- Earnings per share up 25.0% to 66.5p (2024: 53.2p)
- Share Buyback returned £6.1 million of surplus capital to shareholders in October 2025
- Fabric Division sales up 11.4% to £51.97 million (2024: £46.67 million) and up 13.6% on a constant currency basis
- US up by 12.9% excluding tariff surcharges, UK up by 10.5%, Europe up by 2.9%
- Decorating Division sales of £5.42 million (2024: £4.65 million) with project completions weighted to the first half of the financial year
- Profit of £351,000 (2024: loss of £63,000)
- Cash generation of £6.2 million excluding share buybacks and dividend payments (2024: £3.6 million) Interim dividend of 3.0p (2024: 2.8p) up 7% in line with a progressive dividend policy
David Green, Chairman, said:
“The Group has delivered another good performance in the first six months primarily due to a strong Fabric Division performance in the US and despite the additional cost and ongoing uncertainty caused by very significant increases in US import tariffs. We believe that US trading is benefitting from the very strong US stock market. Sales in November, December and January have continued to perform well and unless there is a significant stock market correction, we expect this trend to continue through to the end of the financial year. As a result, the Group’s profits for the year ended 30 April 2026 are expected to be ahead of current market forecasts. This is despite a weaker US dollar exchange rate and an expected breakeven performance from our Decorating Division. Next year, Fabric Division sales growth will be more challenging due to strong prior year comparatives and the Group’s performance will partly depend on the stability of market conditions.
“The Group has a strong balance sheet with cash of £22.2 million. We will continue to focus on investing in our US distribution network and our portfolio of Fabric Division brands to take advantage of growth opportunities in our major markets.”