Trading Update
Eurocell plc reported subdued trading for the first four months of 2026, with group sales up 9% to £18.6 million compared to the prior year, driven by a 19% increase in Alunet sales to £18.6 million and a 5% rise in the Branch Network Division, partially offset by a 4% decline in the Profiles Division. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical uncertainty, the company is progressing strategic initiatives and operational improvements, with analysts forecasting adjusted profit before tax for the year to be between £21 million and £23 million. Eurocell expects to make earnout payments of approximately £4 million for Alunet's 2025 performance and remains committed to shareholder returns through dividends and potential share buybacks, maintaining a strong balance sheet with good debt facility headroom.
Select text to share a quote on X · sign in to keep highlights & notes in your ECEL notes
Eurocell plc, the leading UK manufacturer and distributor of window and door products to the trade, provides the following update for the first four months of 2026, in advance of the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") later today.
Summary
Trading conditions have remained subdued in 2026. Ongoing challenging macroeconomic conditions and weak consumer confidence have been compounded by uncertainty over the impact of conflict in the Middle East on demand and supply chains. This has continued to affect activity levels in both the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market and new build housing.
To mitigate the impact of weak markets and the situation in the Middle East, we continue to invest in and progress our strategic initiatives, implement operational improvements, focus on cost control and offset the impact of higher input cost prices through a combination of surcharges and sales strategies.
However, the effect of this backdrop on consumer confidence and new build housing market activity over the near term remains difficult to assess, which is reflected in the range of analysts' forecasts for the year(1).
- Company compiled range of analysts' forecast adjusted profit before tax for the year of £21 million to £23 million.
Trading Performance
Group sales for the four months to 30 April 2026 were up 9%(2) on 2025. Excluding Alunet, sales were up 1%(2), with an improvement to +5%(2) for the month of April. Comparisons by division for the four-month period were:
| Sales to 30 April 2026 | vs 2025 (2) |
|---|---|
| Profiles Division | -4% |
| Branch Network Division | +5% |
| Group, excluding Alunet | +1% |
| Total Group, including Alunet | +9% |
On a trading day adjusted basis
Profiles - sales down 4%, reflecting reduced RMI activity through our trade fabricators, and persistent wet weather in the first quarter, with new build and social housing fabricators reporting a lack of call-off activity from their customers.
Branch Network - sales up 5%, reflecting:
- Underlying Branch Network sales to the RMI market down 3%
- Offset by the benefits of progress with our strategic initiatives for window and door sales (up 29%), e-commerce activity (up 40%), and garden rooms (up 6%)
- The nine new branches opened since the end of 2024 have delivered incremental sales of £1.1 million so far in 2026, compared to the corresponding period in 2025
New branches create a short-term drag on profitability but enable longer-term profit improvement. Whilst we have identified further potential new sites, we have temporarily paused the opening programme until there is better visibility over the general economic outlook.
Alunet (acquired in March 2025) - continues to perform strongly, driven by market share gains.
Alunet sales were £18.6 million for the 4 months to 30 April 2026, compared to £8.3 million for the 2-month post-acquisition period to 30 April 2025. On a calendar basis, Alunet sales for the 4 months to 30 April 2026 were 19% ahead of the corresponding period in 2025, reflecting:
- Alunet Systems new business with fourteen Eurocell fabricators, plus launch of the new Aluna+ aluminium window system
- Comp Door continuing to acquire new installers, plus impact of the new Sleekskin door and benefits from cross selling opportunities through the Branch Network
As a result of Alunet's strong EBITDA delivery, we expect to make earnout payments shortly of c.£4 million in respect of its 2025 performance.
Capital Allocation
In line with our strategic plan, further investments in the next 12 months include delivering the project to modernise our IT infrastructure, where we expect to transition at the end of 2026.
We are committed to driving shareholder returns through a combination of ordinary dividends and supplementary distributions where appropriate. Total shareholder returns for 2025 were £11.4 million, equivalent to a yield of c.8%. This follows total returns for 2024 of £21.2 million, equivalent to a yield of c.14%.
As previously announced, our intention remains to continue share buybacks in due course, assuming no prolonged impact from the situation in the Middle East and subject to maintaining a strong financial position.
Our balance sheet is strong, and we have good headroom on our debt facility, which was renewed in March 2026.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.