Nichols – Interim Results

2026 INTERIM RESULTS

Continued strategic and financial progress
Strong cash generation, enhanced shareholder returns and full year expectations maintained

Nichols plc, the diversified soft drinks Group, is pleased to announce its unaudited Interim Results for the half year ended 30 June 2026 (the ‘Period’), delivering continued profitable growth, strong cash generation and enhanced shareholder returns, as it continues to execute its growth strategy.

Key Financials

	Half year ended30 June 2026	Half year ended30 June 2025	Movement
Group Revenue	£89.5m	£85.5m	+4.7%
Adjusted Operating Profit1	£14.1m	£13.6m	+3.7%
Adjusted Operating Profit Margin1	15.8%	15.9%	(10bps)
Adjusted Profit Before Tax (PBT)1	£15.0m	£14.6m	+2.7%
Adjusted PBT Margin1	16.8%	17.1%	(30bps)
Operating Profit	£14.1m	£10.4m	+35.6%
Operating Profit Margin	15.8%	12.2%	+360bps
Profit Before Tax (PBT)	£15.0m	£11.4m	+31.6%
PBT Margin	16.8%	13.4%	+340bps
Adjusted Earnings per Share (basic)1	30.30p	29.90p	+1.3%
Earnings per Share (basic)	30.30p	23.33p	+29.9%
Cash and Cash Equivalents	£66.2m	£61.6m	+£4.6m
Free cash flow2	£17.3m	£14.2m	+£3.1m
Adjusted Return on capital employed3	27.9%	30.4%	(250bps)
Return on capital employed4	27.9%	22.7%	+520bps
Interim Ordinary Dividend per share	20.2p	15.0p	+34.7%

Andrew Milne, Chief Executive Officer of Nichols, commented:

“We are pleased to have delivered another strong period of strategic and financial progress, with revenue growth accelerating to 4.7% supporting further profit growth and record cash generation. Reflecting our earnings growth and revised dividend cover policy of 1.5 times, the Board has increased the interim dividend by 35%.

Our UK Packaged business continued to deliver distribution gains and innovation-led growth, whilst Vimto in Africa once again delivered an excellent performance driven by growth in can sales and the continued success of our strategy to migrate production closer to the point of consumption. We were also pleased to have delivered a successful Ramadan trading period in the Middle East despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

We also announced the launch of Myprotein Clear Whey Protein Water in partnership with THG, extending our innovation pipeline into the growing functional drinks category and demonstrating our ability to leverage trusted brands and partnerships to access attractive adjacent growth opportunities.

Supported by our strong portfolio of brands, geographically diversified model, robust balance sheet and significant financial flexibility, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable growth and create long-term shareholder value. The Board’s expectations for the full year remain unchanged and we remain confident in achieving our medium-term financial plans.”

Strategic highlights

UK Packaged

• Continued value growth driven by NPD, distribution gains, momentum in Vimto Energy and strategic marketing campaigns.

• Expansion into the high growth Health and Wellness category through the development of Myprotein Protein Water launching in September

International Packaged

• Strong growth in Africa supported by increased distribution and Red Can sales growth, while the transition to the margin-enhancing concentrate model remains on track, with the second production facility to launch in Ivory Coast this year.

• Successful Ramadan trading period in the Middle East with the new Vimto Rose Cordial well received by consumers

Out of Home

• Profitable account wins within premium food led outlets in dispense including Rudy’s Pizzerias

• Growth in cinema supported by a strong film slate in H1

Operations

• Benefits realisation activity underway following ERP implementation and consolidation of the UK distribution supply chain

• Continued investment to support the Group’s growth ambitions

Financial highlights

• Group Revenue +4.7% at £89.5m (H1 2025: £85.5m) with growth delivered across all routes to market:
  • UK Packaged revenue increased 2.3% to £48.1m (H1 2025: £47.0m) driven by new distribution wins, value share gains in Carbonates, continued momentum in Energy and innovation-led growth.
  • International revenue increased 12.8% to £22.0m (H1 2025: £19.5m), reflecting continued strong growth in Africa and a successful Ramadan trading period in the Middle East.
    • Africa revenue increased 17.2% (H1 2025: +16.9%) with the ongoing transition to the higher-margin concentrate model continuing to support profitability and expected to result in full-year LFL growth exceeding reported growth.
    • Revenue in the Middle East was in line with management expectations and grew 6.3% year-on-year, with a higher weighting of sales anticipated in the second half of the year in preparation for the 2027 Ramadan period.
  • Out of Home revenue increased 1.6% to £19.3m (H1 2025: £19.0m) with continued focus on profitable growth supported by new account wins, such as Rudy’s Pizzerias, partly offset by the prior year impact of the planned exit from the Starslush brand.

• Gross margin remained resilient at 43.9% (H1 2025: 44.1%)
  • Gross profit increased by £1.6m reflecting revenue growth across both UK and International Packaged
  • Input cost inflation in the UK successfully managed leading to stable gross margins
  • International margins were maintained, benefiting from the continued execution of the Group’s strategy to migrate production (through concentrate) closer to consumers in Africa

• Adjusted operating profit increased +3.7% to £14.1m (H1 2025: £13.6m)
  • Increased gross profit and distribution efficiencies supported continued investment in future growth
  • Adjusted operating profit margin remained robust at 15.8% (H1 2025: 15.9%)

• Adjusted profit before tax increased +2.7% to £15.0m (H1 2025 £14.6m)
  • Strong operating profit growth more than offset lower interest income
  • Adjusted profit before tax margin of 16.8% (H1 2025: 17.1%)

• No exceptional costs recognised in the Period (H1 2025: £3.2m) following the ERP programme being successfully implemented in 2025. The Group is now focused on realising the benefits and driving operational efficiencies which are already being seen in distribution costs.

• Record first half operating cash flow, with cash and cash equivalents at £66.2m (H1 2025: £61.6m, 31 December 2025: £55.7m)
  • Free cash flow increased to £17.3m (H1 2025: £14.2m), reflecting the full unwind of year-end working capital outflows
  • Net interest income of £0.9m (H1 2025: £1.0m) driven by the lower interest rate environment
  • Robust balance sheet provides significant flexibility to support the Group’s growth ambitions and capital allocation priorities.

• Interim dividend of 20.2p per share (H1 2025: 15.0p), an increase of 34.7%
  • Reflecting the growth in earnings per share and the implementation of the Group’s updated dividend policy which improves dividend cover from approximately 2.0x to 1.5x adjusted earnings.

Outlook

• The Board remains highly confident in Nichols’ ability to deliver further strategic and financial progress in the second half, supporting the Group’s medium-term financial ambitions.

• Full year performance is expected to be in line with current market expectations5.

References

1 Excluding exceptional items

2 Free Cash Flow is the net increase in cash and cash equivalents before acquisition funding and dividends

3 Adjusted return on capital employed is the operating profit (excluding exceptional items) divided by the average period-end capital employed

4 Return on capital employed is the operating profit divided by the average period-end capital employed

5 Current market expectations refers to Group compiled market consensus for FY 2026 Adjusted PBT of £35.1m at27 July 2026

Investor and analyst presentation

Andrew Milne, CEO and Matthew Rothwell, CFO, will provide a live presentation at 10:45am BST today for analysts and investors which can be accessed here: https://b.link/NICL_HY26. This will be available for playback on the Company’s website after the event.