Final Results
Summary by AI BETAClose X
13 April 2026
CHURCHILL CHINA plc
("Churchill" or the "Company" or the "Group")
FINAL RESULTS
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Resilient performance underpinned by robust cash generation and strategic discipline
Churchill China plc (AIM: CHH), the manufacturer of innovative performance ceramic products serving hospitality markets worldwide, is pleased to announce its Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Financial Overview
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
|
Revenue |
£76.3m |
£78.3m |
|
Profit before tax |
£6.0m |
£8.5m |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
£10.8m |
£10.1m |
|
EBITDA |
£9.4m |
£11.7m |
|
EPS |
39.7p |
57.9p |
|
Interim dividend |
7.0p |
11.5p |
|
Final dividend |
14.0p |
26.5p |
Business Overview
· Stable Performance across European, North American and UK hospitality markets, reflecting the strength of Churchill's brand and customer partnerships.
· Robust cash generation of £0.7m, delivered through disciplined working capital and operational controls.
· Inventory reduction of £2.0m, improving agility and strengthening the balance sheet.
· Energy costs well controlled with substantial forward purchased for 2026 & 2027.
· Continued capital investment enhancing factory efficiency, automation and productivity.
· Improved European & UK hospitality pipeline entering 2026 compared with the prior year.
· Strong replacement business, underscoring the durability of Churchill's customer base.
· Well-funded position, with a strong balance sheet, supporting future growth and investment.
· Confidence in the Group's long term outlook.
· Final dividend of 14.0p giving a full year dividend of 21.0p.
David O'Connor, Chief Executive of Churchill China commented:
"While 2025 was another challenging year for the Group and overall revenue was under pressure. We made meaningful progress in areas within our control. Our focus remained on driving improved factory performance and I am pleased that our operational initiatives have delivered clear benefits.
Sales performance across European, North American and UK hospitality markets held up during a period of continued market contraction, reflecting the strength of Churchill's brand and customer partnerships. We believe that we grew market share during the year in each of these markets, and in the 2nd half our European sales were 7% above the prior year
The benefits of capital expenditure on more efficient and automated factory processes continue to come through and we have a planned roll-out of further improvements for the next few years.
Churchill enters 2026 operationally stronger, with improved factory efficiency, controlled costs, and a more robust UK pipeline. We remain confident in the resilience of our business and our ability to deliver long‑term sustainable value for shareholders."
Analyst Meeting
An in-person meeting for analysts will be held at 10:00am on 13 April 2026 at the offices of Burson Buchanan, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HS. An online facility is available for those unable to attend in person. To register for either the in-person or online meeting please contact Burson Buchanan by email at Churchillchina@buchanan.uk.com or telephone 020 7466 5000.
For further information, please contact:
|
Churchill China plc |
Tel: 01782 577566 |
|
David O'Connor / James Roper / Michael Cunningham |
|
|
|
|
|
Burson Buchanan |
Tel: 020 7466 5000 |
|
Helen Tarbet / Abigail Gilchrist / Sophie Wills |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investec Bank plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) |
Tel: 020 7597 5970 |
|
David Flin / Oliver Cardigan |
|
|
Panmure Liberum Limited (Joint Broker) |
Tel: 020 3100 2000 |
|
Edward Thomas / John Moore |
|
Chairman's Statement
Operational and commercial performance
I am pleased to present the results for the year to 31 December 2025. As we have previously commented throughout the year, the hospitality industry in our markets remained challenging, reducing the number of new installations of tableware and increasing our reliance on the more predictable replacement business. As a result, revenue in the year reduced 2.6% to £76.3m, (2024: £78.3m). Reduced manufacturing volumes were exacerbated by a planned reduction in stock levels, leading to higher manufacturing cost per piece, on top of the wage and NI increases that took effect in April 2025. These combined pressures on the business have led to a profit before tax at £6.0m for the year (2024: £8.5m) and represented a return on sales of 7.9% (2024: 10.9%).
The Group traded in line with the expectations we set in July, which reflected the weaker trading and cost positions that had become evident. The second half of the year showed early signs of improved trading in mainland Europe.
Continental Europe our largest hospitality market, delivered a strong second half, recovering from a slower H1, to end the year with revenues broadly flat on 2024. The UK however was weaker in the second half as domestic political uncertainty ahead of the November Budget continued to erode business confidence. UK pub groups continued to replenish stock and there were notable orders from some chains for added value product. As in previous years, we benefited over the Christmas run in from our differentiated and best-in-class service proposition.
United States tariffs have had little impact on our business, given that much of the imported ceramics into the US come from the Far East which have been harder hit with tariffs than the UK. We have therefore managed to hold our prices into the US and delivered year-on-year growth at constant currency and in GBP terms despite the devaluation of the dollar over the year. Rest of World regions contributed some 8% to revenues and traded softly overall through the year, as large projects, on which this segment relies, were delayed and pushed out.
Globally the hospitality trade continues to suffer from increased inflationary costs, leading to closures and reduced profitability in the restaurant and casual dining sectors. This in turn caused the sector to reduce or delay project opportunities in 2025. However, the pipeline of projects going into 2026 is stronger than the prior year.
The operations team have continued to focus on delivering improvements both in yields and the returns from major capital purchases which are now contributing to our factory performance. We have achieved meaningful reductions in waste however there is still a significant opportunity to pursue further improvements.
Reduced manufacturing levels have allowed the Group to reduce stocks by £2.0m leading to an improvement in our year end cash position. As always Group strategy is to maintain a strong unencumbered balance sheet in order to be able to fund manufacturing or product opportunities as they arise.
Dividend
Given the current challenging trading backdrop, the Board has taken the difficult but prudent decision to reduce the dividend. We therefore propose a final dividend of 14.0p per share giving a total dividend of 21.0p per share for the year. This final dividend, subject to shareholder approval at the Company's AGM on 29 May 2026, will be paid on 4 June 2026 to shareholders on the register on 1 May 2026. Our aim is to return to increasing dividends year on year as the Group returns to growth.
Future growth
In a hospitality market that is currently weakened in our major markets, growth is naturally more difficult to achieve, but the Group continues to identify Continental Europe as a potential growth area due to our low market share and our high level of sales representation in the area. We continue to increase our sales presence in key markets to produce further new opportunities. The recent tariff increase on imported Chinese product into Europe also presents us with an opportunity to win new business.
The Company conducted an active new product launch programme throughout the year which was well received by the market, showcasing both innovative design and the benefits of more flexible manufacturing processes enabled by our recent capital expenditure programme.
We continue to invest in productivity and in 2025 we completed commissioning of our new plate making equipment, which is both more agile and energy efficient. With further similar capital, we will replace our thirty-year-old equipment which is approaching end of life. We also saw the delivery of further electrification, replacing two more gas fired glazing pre heat units which significantly reduce our carbon footprint and improve yields in the process. Finally, we have automated a large proportion of our packing process leading to significant cost saving.
We are also reviewing opportunities to distribute non-ceramic products in the same product areas, and which could be delivered by our strong sales network. Whether by acquisition or through exclusive distribution agreements, this could offer an additional growth path to Churchill and strengthen the offering to our distributor customer base.
Employees
I continue to be impressed at the commitment and effort of all our staff during a three-year period that has been exceptionally challenging. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues for their commitment, effort and diligence through the year and I look forward to 2026 being a more settled and profitable year for all.
Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG')
ESG remains a key focus of the board with a continued strengthening of our governance procedures. We adopted the new QCA code last year ahead of the required schedule and will continue to interact and take account of our shareholders views. As previously mentioned, we have continued our journey to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels with the replacement of key equipment that both transfers our dependence on gas into electricity but more importantly reduces our overall energy requirement.
Outlook
The Group continues to offer world class products coupled with a high-level service offering. With a recovering market and our investment in our sales and service offering we see a bright future for Churchill. We are focussed on leveraging new technologies to drive efficiency improvements in both the factory and in the administrative and sales areas. The introduction of our new enterprise resource planning ('ERP') system, due for implementation in 2027, will provide a strong foundation in the adoption of AI technologies to further drive this journey and improve efficiencies across the business particularly in respect to production planning and optimisation of stock holding.
The outbreak of the Middle East conflict has created uncertainty in the energy markets and, as an energy intensive company, Churchill has exposure to increasing prices. The Group manages its risk exposure and is materially hedged for the year-ahead. In 2026 the Group has open exposure to circa 16% of its gas costs and has forward purchased 64% of its gas requirements for 2027. The Group has modelled the impact of rising costs under a number of scenarios and, whilst profitability would be impacted, it is anticipated that it is only in a prolonged conflict with dramatically increased pricing, that this would materially impact the expected results.
We continue to invest heavily for productivity and efficiency on the factory to drive margin improvement. When appropriate this will allow us to position ourselves more competitively in the market, supporting a return to sales growth.
Robin G.W. Williams
Chairman
10 April 2026
Strategic report
for the year ended 31 December 2025
The Directors present their Strategic Report for the Group for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Principal activities
Churchill China plc is a UK based manufacturer of performance tableware primarily supplying into the hospitality sector. Utilising a high-performance vitreous body, the Group leverages its technical advantages to deliver superb value in use and value for money to its end users.
In addition to the supply of tableware, the Group supplies the majority of the UK pottery industry with materials for the manufacture of ceramics. The Group utilises its extensive technical abilities to supply high quality body materials, glaze and colour.
Business model
The Group supplies customers worldwide with a range of high-performance tabletop products, primarily ceramic tableware. Most of these revenues come from our UK manufacturing facilities although we do supplement these with some outsourced products with a growing proportion coming from associated tableware categories such as cutlery.
We focus primarily on the hospitality sector which generates most of our revenues. This focus is driven by the attractiveness of the sector, with revenues seen as long term, recurring and, whilst vulnerable to short term economic fluctuations, reasonably stable.
The market is highly fragmented and so our strategy of identifying strong, in-territory distributors to work with, allows us to deliver to a wide range of customers. From large chains through to small independent restaurants, we are perfectly placed to offer innovative product and design to give a competitive, differentiated advantage to our customers, where our innovative design and supply strengths are important to their hospitality offering.
The growth strategy for the Group is to focus on those areas currently underserved by our competitors with regards to customer service. Our ability to fulfil customer orders, in most cases, in under 48 hours gives us a significant competitive advantage.
Our business model is designed to allow us to identify markets where we may profitably grow our revenues on a sustainable long-term basis. We research customer product requirements and distribution structures in new markets and, if they offer profit opportunities, invest to generate revenue, margin and ultimately a return for the business and our stakeholders.
We continue to expect short to medium term growth to be weighted towards export markets and particularly Europe, where we continue to develop our distribution and sales structure.
Our target remains to deliver progressive increases in the proportion of added value products within our business. We invest steadily in improving the efficiency and agility of our production capability and in improving our ability to offer added value to our customers. This involves investment in new product development as well as capital expenditure on productive improvements. We expect to continue to invest for the long term in our UK manufacturing facilities. To facilitate this during 2025 the Group has delivered new products at lower price points to allow customers to continue converting from standard whiteware into added value products.
As a major energy user, we have recognised and acknowledged the importance to our future operations of reducing our energy consumption substantially. We have commenced a long-term process to develop several initiatives to meet forward energy targets. A number of these initiatives are underway. We are pleased with the potential impact from these actions but recognise that this is a long-term process requiring continuing focus.
As our business develops, we need different skills and a core part of our model is to train, develop and recruit staff to meet these requirements.
Culture and Values
As a company with a long history, our values are well defined. Innovation, cooperation, uncompromising customer service, trust and honesty are the core values that drive our behaviours on a day-to-day basis.
Our approach as a business is based on making decisions that are aligned with adding long term value to our shareholders, whilst being mindful of our responsibilities to our wider stakeholders.
The business culture is driven by the executive leadership team and hinges on openness and giving our colleagues the space to develop and grow. While there are controls in place to protect the business, colleagues are given the space to make decisions without fear of failure. The average term of service of our staff is 11.8 years, which is a key KPI for the business and we believe this highlights our ability to create a good and supportive working environment for our colleagues.
The Board believe that this environment allows our colleagues to become the leaders of the future by developing their skills and abilities.
Finally, the Group engages on multiple levels with our customers, engaging at an early stage of the design process to get the market view of proposed products, and delivering on our promise of "performance delivered".
Business environment
2025 was another challenging year for the hospitality market with the ongoing economic environment continuing to squeeze the profitability of restaurants and other food outlets. The Group's strong market position provides some protection from this disruption, with a large proportion of revenue coming from replacement business which tends to continue regardless of the underlying economic environment.
As a result of this challenging market, price increases remain difficult to put through, with the obvious need to cover our own costs having to be balanced with the impact on our end users. The Group implemented a 2.9% price increase at the end of 2025.
Whilst we are seeing a reduction in the number of new openings in our more established markets our pipeline for installation business remains strong going into 2026. The Group continues to have a strong installed base which allows a high level of replacement business where customers will continue using Churchill products to replace breakages.
Evidence from our end users suggests that the hospitality trade is still healthy, and consumers continue to eat out. Profitability within establishments is being compressed and it is this dynamic that is restricting the growth in sales in contrast to the growth which the group has seen for the last 15 years.
Promoting the success of the Company
It is the duty of the Directors under s172 of the Companies Act 2006 to promote the long-term success of the Company to the benefit of members as a whole and acting fairly with regard for the interests of other stakeholders in the business.
Other stakeholders include employees, customers, suppliers, our pension fund members, our local and the wider community, government, and other regulatory bodies.
Churchill has been in existence since 1795 and the company has always taken a long-term approach to business, particularly in relation to investment and in understanding the opportunities open to us and the risks to which we are exposed. To operate a successful and sustainable business model it is necessary to ensure that all the contributors to the success of the business understand their place within it and feel that the Group operates ethically and fairly in its dealings with them.
The Board has regard to the interests of all stakeholders in its discussions and reaches balanced decisions with the sustainability of the business uppermost in its considerations. Churchill maintains a financial model that is aligned with this objective such that capital allocation decisions, where possible, do not unfairly prioritise the interests of one group of stakeholders over others. The Board is aware of the need to support regular revenue and capital investment in the development of our business, and we orientate our operations accordingly.
We aim to deliver well designed, performance products and outstanding service at appropriate price levels to our customers. At the same time, we acknowledge that to meet these levels of customer service, we are reliant upon good relationships with a well-motivated workforce and fair and balanced relationships with a range of suppliers. We understand that we have a responsibility to pay appropriate levels of taxation and to support the future pensions of our scheme members. We consider our dividend policy carefully in light of the overall needs of the business and the interests of other stakeholders. Our policy is formulated to ensure that dividend payments are not excessive in relation to profits, and do not introduce excessive levels of risk in relation to the sustainability of the business.
Churchill aims to manage its effect on our local community and the environment. We have engaged with the community on an ongoing basis through charitable and educational support. The business operates several initiatives aimed at minimising our waste products, recycling waste where possible and in the reduction of our energy usage and carbon footprint. We have made several investments and process changes to reduce our use of energy. These investments continue and have had significant impacts on process stability and yield, allowing us to improve efficiencies in the factory.
The business has regular contact with our workforce through both formal and informal mechanisms, the recent addition of a Factory and Staff Engagement Committees has allowed us to engage more directly with the workforce to understand the pressures that they are under and to address non-financial issues that are impacting their working time with us. The scale of our business and our open culture allow the Board and management to engage with our employees on a day-to-day basis and employees are encouraged to raise issues. We have a recognised trade union representing most of our weekly paid employees and we meet regularly with their representatives. However, we believe that other initiatives including on-site briefings, communication boards and regular news updates provide the most important means of engaging with our workforce. We believe that our workforce is engaged and motivated.
We meet with suppliers on a regular basis to provide information in relation to our forward plans and review performance. As in other elements of our business, we enjoy long standing relationships with most of our suppliers. On average we pay suppliers within 38 days (2024: 36 days) of invoice. We believe our suppliers regard Churchill as a good customer.
The Board consults regularly with shareholders through formal meetings, company visits and informal discussions.
Voting on resolutions at the 2025 Annual General Meeting was positive with over 98% of votes cast being in favour of the resolutions put to the meeting. The Board reviews voting carefully after each Annual General Meeting.
Resources and relationships
Our key resources remain our employees and customers, our technical and business skills, our long heritage of manufacturing and willingness to embrace new methods to deliver an outstanding service.
One of the key elements of our sustainable market advantage is the success of our innovation process. We have developed this process to research and identify market trends and design new products to satisfy these trends.
Churchill has a significant technical advantage in the nature of the product we offer to our markets. Our product offers significant benefits in terms of durability and overall lifetime cost to users. This technical advantage has been developed over many years, and we hold significant intellectual property in our materials and processes.
The Group operates from two sites in Stoke on Trent, England, a renowned centre for ceramic excellence worldwide. This gives us access to key suppliers, technical support and experienced staff. Our main manufacturing plant and logistics facilities have benefitted from significant and regular long-term investment to improve our business's efficiency and effectiveness. We also operate from several smaller locations and representative offices around the world, including a manufacturing facility in Romania.
Our employees also give us significant advantage. We believe we recruit, retain, and develop high quality individuals at all levels within the business who contribute towards the success and growth of the Group and maintain our core values. We have maintained our investment in training and development to provide more fulfilling roles for our staff and improve the effectiveness and productivity of our workforce. The Group invests in robotics and mechanisation in areas that allow the removal of repetitive and unfulfilling tasks. During the year, due to the escalating costs of labour, this approach has been accelerated. The average head count during the year has reduced reflecting our investments in automation and reduced volumes.
We have long standing relationships with our customers. Whilst many of these are not contractual, we continue to supply the same customers year after year with products that meet their requirements. Our customers value our technical ability, our service and our commitment to high quality design and innovation.
Churchill has long enjoyed a market leading reputation for service. Our operational plans are geared towards meeting high levels of on time delivery both in the UK and overseas. We hold extensive inventories to meet these service requirements and have emphasised flexibility and responsiveness within our manufacturing process.
Strategy
The Group's objective is to generate long term benefits to all stakeholders in the business by the efficient provision of value to customers through excellence in design, quality and service.
We aim to increase the value we provide to our stakeholders through steady increments to sales and margins, through alignment of our cost base with profit opportunities and a focus on cash generation.
Our long-term aim is to build our presence in markets offering sustainable levels of revenue and profitability. For several years this has led us towards development of our strong UK position into hospitality markets worldwide and particularly in Europe.
Innovation remains important to support our ambition to develop our business. We continue to invest significant resources in new staff and flexible technology to increase our capability in this area. It is a key strategic aim to design products that meet our end users' requirements in terms of performance, shape and surface design. Our target markets require products that are aesthetically appealing whilst also performing to appropriate customer and technical standards.
We understand that quality must exist throughout our business process. Quality is reflected not only in the appearance of our product but in its design, its technical performance and in the systems which support the fulfilment of our contract with our customers. We invest to maintain the performance of our products and to extend our capabilities.
Customer service remains a major part of our strategy, and the fulfilment of customer expectations is critical to the maintenance of good relationships. Our production and logistics facilities have been designed to balance efficiency and flexibility within manufacturing to ensure that we can respond quickly to unexpected demand levels and to meet ambitious on time, in full, delivery targets. We invest regularly in these facilities to maintain a market leading position in customer service.
Performance
During the year the Group took the decision to reduce manufacturing output in order to reduce our excess stock position. When combined with the reduced hospitality sales volumes during the year the impact of these two factors was to reduce contribution margin due to the operational gearing of the factory, producing at below optimum cost recovery levels.
Revenue in the year fell 2.6% from £78.3m in 2024 to £76.3m in 2025. The UK performed well in H1 but a slightly harder second half meant that hospitality revenue ended the year £0.3m behind 2024. Europe had a stronger performance in the second half of the year, meaning that the region finished the year only £0.3m behind 2024. North America ended the year ahead of 2024 by £1.3m despite a devaluation in the Dollar. Finally, the Rest of the World finished the year £1.7m behind 2024, driven primarily by reduced project work completing in the year.
|
|
2025 |
|
2024 |
||||||
|
|
Hospitality |
Retail |
Materials |
Total |
|
Hospitality |
Retail |
Materials |
Total |
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
United Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rest of Europe |
30,328 |
192 |
- |
30,520 |
|
30,515 |
275 |
- |
30,790 |
|
USA |
6,519 |
2,039 |
- |
8,558 |
|
6,594 |
638 |
- |
7,232 |
|
Rest of the World |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
67,361 |
2,810 |
6,106 |
76,277 |
|
69,391 |
1,706 |
7,182 |
78,279 |
The Group has continued to maintain a good level of sales in the UK given our strong market position in the pub chain sector, which tends to be less impacted by economic sentiment compared with independents.
During the year we focussed on a reduction in our excess stock position whilst maintaining an exemplary customer service provision. Customer deliveries remained in excess of 98% delivered within 48 hours backed up with over 70% of European orders being fulfilled within 24 hours from our European distribution centre. This service offering sets us apart from the competition.
We had very successful Spring and Summer launches with a focus on inkjet products which have been well received. The inkjet process gives us a high degree of flexibility within the factory and is perfect for delivering high quality hospitality designs at good margin. With low to no changeover times the batch sizes can be better streamlined through the factory and the agility allows us to schedule longer runs with varying designs, improving factory recoveries.
The hospitality trade continues to be relatively buoyant, however profitability remains under pressure. This has lead to good levels of replacement business but new installations in the rest of the world have been delayed and this has caused a reduction in turnover in this area of the business.
Furlong Mills, our materials business, performed well, despite a slowdown in the wider ceramics industry in Stoke on Trent and the business managed to outperform management expectations. Actions were taken at the start of the year to counteract the impact of this reduced activity leading to improved contribution and profitability. The business continues to benefit from the technical expertise within Furlong Mills and this expertise is key in our plans to improve profitability through innovative materials.
Due to the actions on stock, together with the continuing cash generative business model, cash increased during the year by £0.7m. In addition to the stock movements, debtors increased by £1.3m as a result of Novembers sales which were amongst the highest months turnover ever recorded by the Group and an increase in trade payables of £0.5m.
The Group's defined benefit pension scheme surplus position decreased during the year due to expenses incurred in continuing to match the funding position with that of insurers and actions relating to data cleansing ahead of Guaranteed Minimum Pension Equalisation (GMPE). The Group has assessed the recoverability of the net asset arising from the scheme surplus and considers that, based on the Trust Deed and Scheme rules, the surplus would be recoverable on cessation of the scheme.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
ESG remains an important part of the culture of Churchill China plc. As a high energy use company and one of the largest employers in the Stoke-on-Trent area we are aware of our responsibilities to the wider community and have made this a part of our DNA.
The Group's ESG strategy is to be, "doing the right thing" with the knowledge that this works for both ESG factors and for the bottom line. As a result, the Group's ESG strategy is focussed on reducing the reliance on fossil fuels by using renewable sources of energy production along with new technology to reduce the actual usage of energy. These actions are only taken where there is a clear fit with the Group's investment strategy and where returns are clearly defined.
Our ESG committee, comprised of Executive Directors and Senior Management, have continued to develop our approach and further embed the ESG objectives and actions into our business planning. During the year the Group has continued on its journey to improve our ESG position. We have installed two additional electric pre heat units on our glazing lines which have delivered a 4% reduction in energy consumption, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions. In addition the pre heats have improved yields with the resultant reduction in raw materials also leading to a reduction in emissions.
The committee also continues to assess the pressures that may affect the business in the medium term through to 2030 and the longer term issues that may impact shareholder value through to 2050.
Whilst these timeframes naturally mean that there is a significant level of uncertainty in any issues identified, this strategy aligns with the Group's long-term approach to business.
We use a significant amount of energy in our processes, and this is an area of strategic focus for the business. Substantial progress has been made in identifying efficiency, recovery, and generation initiatives across our operations. We have researched proven and emerging technologies to assess how these can potentially combine to a path to Net Zero, whilst maintaining the performance characteristics of the technically differentiated and durable product that we manufacture. This process has included the continuation of several research projects in relation to our materials and processes, contribution to industry initiatives and use of specialist advice from suppliers and other experts.
The Group has continued to evolve its environmental strategy during the year with, as previously mentioned, a number of capital projects focussed at reducing the amount of CO2 generated in the production of our products. We have continued converting gas processes to electricity and have focussed on equipment which also reduces our reliance on compressors, which are a significant contributor to energy usage. The new plate making machine utilises servos which are more energy efficient than the compressor driven machines that it will ultimately replace. The Group intends to purchase a second machine during 2026 to continue this journey.
The business employs over 680 people across three manufacturing sites who work predominantly in an industrial environment. Our Health and Safety procedures and systems have continued to manage what is an important area for the business. Unfortunately, we did have a lost time incident during the year breaking our long run of time without an incident. As is standard in our business this resulted in a root cause analysis of the incident along with a wider review of health and safety but through the lens of the incident. Several corrective actions were taken to minimise any future risks to our colleagues.
We have also implemented a number of initiatives in relation to our workforce, including the creation of a factory engagement committee, and our engagement with our local community. We have always prioritised training and development of our workforce and we have continued to invest in this area. Future plans emphasise the improvement of our employee's working environment.
We continue to strengthen our governance procedures within the business and aim to adhere to the new QCA code. Last year we were early adopters of the requirement to have all directors putting themselves up for re-election and this year we will take the step to make the vote on the remuneration report binding.
The Company continues to test the independence of the board and confirms that all 4 non-executive directors are considered independent.
During 2025 the Board repeated its internal evaluation of its effectiveness. The minor issues identified in the 2024 review were reviewed and no significant issues were highlighted, the Board commits to continue with this process in the coming years.
The Group continues to operate a business model which is focused on long term sustainable success, delivering returns to all stakeholders. We will continue to develop and evolve our ESG agenda and over time, will translate our goals and objectives into a published reporting framework, with benchmarks, key performance indicators and our progress against them. The following tables identify and update our goals and actions to achieve them.
Consolidated Income Statement
for the year ended 31 December 2025
|
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
|
||
|
Revenue |
|
76,277 |
78,279 |
|
Operating profit |
|
5,643 |
7,995 |
|
Finance income |
|
559 |
631 |
|
Finance costs |
|
(175) |
(90) |
|
Profit before income tax |
|
6,027 |
8,536 |
|
Income tax expense |
|
(1,666) |
(2,171) |
|
Profit for the year |
|
4,361 |
6,365 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic earnings per ordinary share |
|
39.7p |
57.9p |
|
Diluted earnings per ordinary share |
|
39.7p |
57.9p |
All of the above figures relate to continuing operations.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
for the year ended 31 December 2025
|
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
|
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
Profit for the year |
|
4,361 |
6,365 |
|
Other comprehensive (expense)/income |
|
|
|
|
Items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss: |
|
|
|
|
Remeasurements of post-employment benefit obligations net of tax |
|
(445) |
(835) |
|
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit |
|
|
|
|
Currency translation differences |
|
(11) |
4 |
|
Other comprehensive expense for the year |
|
(456) |
(831) |
|
Total comprehensive income for the year |
|
3,905 |
5,534 |
Amounts in the statement above are disclosed net of tax.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
as at 31 December 2025
|
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
|
||
|
Assets |
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets |
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and equipment |
|
26,467 |
24,578 |
|
Intangible assets |
|
454 |
616 |
|
Deferred tax assets |
|
177 |
131 |
|
Retirement benefit assets |
|
7,651 |
8,179 |
|
|
|
34,749 |
33,504 |
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
|
Inventories |
|
21,328 |
23,318 |
|
Trade and other receivables |
|
13,445 |
12,191 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
10,808 |
10,100 |
|
|
|
45,581 |
45,609 |
|
Total assets |
|
80,330 |
79,113 |
|
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables |
|
(10,495) |
(11,508) |
|
|
|
(10,495) |
(11,508) |
|
Non-current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
Lease liabilities |
|
(2,477) |
(550) |
|
Deferred tax liabilities |
|
(5,819) |
(5,792) |
|
Non-current liabilities |
|
(8,296) |
(6,342) |
|
Total liabilities |
|
(18,791) |
(17,850) |
|
Net assets |
|
61,539 |
61,263 |
|
Equity attributable to owners of the Company |
|
|
|
|
Issued share capital |
|
1,103 |
1,103 |
|
Share premium account |
|
2,348 |
2,348 |
|
Treasury shares |
|
(431) |
(431) |
|
Other reserves |
|
1,195 |
1,160 |
|
Retained earnings |
|
57,324 |
57,083 |
|
Total equity |
|
61,539 |
61,263 |
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 December 2025
|
|
Retained earnings£'000 |
Issued share capital |
Share premium account |
Treasury shares |
Other |
Total equity |
||||
|
Balance at 1 January 2024 |
55,558 |
1,103 |
2,348 |
(431) |
1,363 |
59,941 |
||||
|
Comprehensive Income/(expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Profit for the year |
6,365 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
6,365 |
||||
|
Other comprehensive income/(expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
Depreciation transfer - gross |
12 |
- |
- |
- |
(12) |
- |
||||
|
Depreciation transfer - tax |
(3) |
- |
- |
- |
3 |
- |
||||
|
Re-measurement of post-employment benefit obligations - net of tax |
(835) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(835) |
||||
|
Currency translation |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
4 |
||||
|
Total comprehensive income |
5,539 |
- |
- |
- |
(5) |
5,534 |
||||
|
Transactions with owners |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Dividends |
(4,014) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(4,014) |
||||
|
Share based payments |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(198) |
(198) |
||||
|
Total transactions with owners |
(4,014) |
- |
- |
- |
(198) |
(4,212) |
||||
|
Balance at 31 December 2024 |
57,083 |
1,103 |
2,348 |
(431) |
1,160 |
61,263 |
||||
|
Balance at 1 January 2025 |
57,083 |
1,103 |
2,348 |
(431) |
1,160 |
61,263 |
||||
|
Comprehensive Income/(expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Profit for the year |
4,361 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4,361 |
||||
|
Other comprehensive income/(expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
Depreciation transfer - gross |
12 |
- |
- |
- |
(12) |
- |
||||
|
Depreciation transfer - tax |
(3) |
- |
- |
- |
3 |
- |
||||
|
Re-measurement of post-employment benefit obligations - net of tax |
(445) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(445) |
||||
|
Currency translation |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(11) |
(11) |
||||
|
Total comprehensive income |
3,925 |
- |
- |
- |
(20) |
3,905 |
||||
|
Transactions with owners |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Dividends |
(3,684) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
(3,684) |
||||
|
Share based payments |
- |
- |
- |
- |
55 |
55 |
||||
|
Total transactions with owners |
(3,684) |
- |
- |
- |
55 |
(3,629) |
||||
|
Balance at 31 December 2025 |
57,324 |
1,103 |
2,348 |
(431) |
1,195 |
61,539 |
||||
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
for the year ended 31 December 2025
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
Cash flows from operating activities |
|
|
|
Cash generated from operations |
9,282 |
5,085 |
|
Interest received |
111 |
227 |
|
Interest paid |
(175) |
(90) |
|
Income taxes paid |
(1,773) |
(1,574) |
|
Net cash generated from operating activities |
7,445 |
3,648 |
|
Cash flows from investing activities |
|
|
|
Purchases of property, plant and equipment |
(2,451) |
(3,003) |
|
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment |
32 |
39 |
|
Purchases of intangible assets |
(2) |
(135) |
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
(2,421) |
(3,099) |
|
Cash flows from financing activities |
|
|
|
Dividends paid |
(3,684) |
(4,014) |
|
Principal elements of leases |
(632) |
(368) |
|
Net cash generated used in in financing activities |
(4,316) |
(4,382) |
|
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
708 |
(3,833) |
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year |
10,100 |
13,933 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year |
10,808 |
10,100 |
Reconciliation of Operating Profit to Net Cash Inflow from Operating Activities
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Continuing operating activities |
|
|
|
Operating profit |
5,643 |
7,995 |
|
Adjustments for: |
|
|
|
Depreciation and amortisation |
3,806 |
3,666 |
|
Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment |
(24) |
(13) |
|
Charge/(reversal) for share-based payments |
55 |
(198) |
|
Defined benefit pension cash contribution |
- |
(1,167) |
|
Pension administrative costs |
382 |
94 |
|
Other income |
(309) |
- |
|
Changes in working capital: |
|
|
|
Inventory |
1,990 |
(1,422) |
|
Trade and other receivables |
(1,254) |
(1,150) |
|
Trade and other payables |
(1,007) |
(2,720) |
|
Net cash inflow from operations |
9,282 |
5,085 |
1. Segmental Analysis
The Group reports to the Chief Operating Decision Maker, the Board, on two distinct segments of revenue. The Group's reportable segments are as follows; Ceramics, the sale of ceramic tableware and complementary items and; Materials, the sale of materials for the production of ceramics, predominantly to the tableware industry.
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Market segment - Revenue |
|
|
|
Ceramics |
70,171 |
71,097 |
|
Materials |
12,485 |
13,059 |
|
|
82,656 |
84,156 |
|
Intra group revenue |
(6,379) |
(5,877) |
|
|
76,277 |
78,279 |
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
Geographical segment - Revenue |
|
|
|
United Kingdom |
31,459 |
32,790 |
|
Rest of Europe |
30,520 |
30,790 |
|
USA |
8,558 |
7,232 |
|
Rest of the World |
5,740 |
7,467 |
|
|
76,277 |
78,279 |
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Operating profit Ceramics |
6,999 |
9,106 |
|
Ceramics Materials |
3,133 2,510
|
6,999 996 |
|
|
5,643 |
7,995 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Unallocated items Finance Income |
631 |
611 |
|
Finance income Finance costs |
559 (175)
|
631 (90)
|
|
Profit before income tax |
6,027 |
8,536 |
2. Finance income and costs
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
Interest income on cash and cash equivalents |
111 |
227 |
|
Interest on defined benefit schemes |
448 |
404 |
|
Finance income |
559 |
631 |
|
Interest on lease liabilities |
(139) |
(74) |
|
Other interest |
(36) |
(16) |
|
Finance costs |
(175) |
(90) |
|
Net finance income |
384 |
541 |
3. Income tax expense
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Group Current tax - current year |
1,566 |
1,679 |
|
Current tax - adjustment in respect of prior periods |
(30) |
9 |
|
Current tax |
1,536 |
1,688 |
|
Deferred tax |
|
|
|
Current year |
49 |
489 |
|
Current year - adjustment in respect of prior periods |
81 |
(6) |
|
Deferred tax |
130 |
483 |
|
Income tax expense |
1,666 |
2,171 |
4. Earnings per ordinary share
Basic earnings per ordinary share is based on the profit after income tax and on 10,997,835
(2024: 10,997,835) ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
|
|
2025 Pence per |
2024 Pence per |
|
|
||
|
Basic earnings per share (Based on earnings £4,361,000 (2024: £6,365,000)) |
39.7 |
57.9 |
Basic and diluted earnings per share are the same for the period as the Group had no dilutive potential ordinary shares
5. Dividends
The dividends paid in the year were as follows:
|
Group and Company
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
Ordinary Final dividend 2024 26.5p (2023: 25.0p) per 10p ordinary share |
2,914 |
2,749 |
|
Interim 2025 7.0p (2024: 11.5p) per 10p ordinary share paid |
770 |
1,265 |
|
|
3,684 |
4,014 |
The Directors now recommend payment of the following dividend:
|
Ordinary dividend: |
|
|
|
Final dividend 2025 14.0p (2024: 26.5p) per 10p ordinary share |
1,540 |
2,914 |
Dividends on treasury shares held by the Company are waived.
|
6. Retirement benefit assets |
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Statement of financial position asset |
|
|
|
Pension benefits |
7,651 |
8,179 |
|
Income statement charge / (income) |
|
|
|
Pension benefits |
1,264 |
1,029 |
|
Administrative costs |
382 |
94 |
|
Finance income |
(448) |
(404) |
The amounts recognised in the statement of financial position are determined as follows:
|
|
2025 £'000 |
2024 £'000 |
|
|
||
|
Present value of funded obligations |
(36,932) |
(37,144) |
|
Fair value of plan assets |
44,583 |
45,323 |
|
Asset in statement of financial position |
7,651 |
8,179 |
7. Basis of preparation and accounting policies
The financial information included in the preliminary announcement for year to 31 December 2025 has been approved by the Board on 10 April 2026.
The final financial statements do not constitute the statutory accounts of the Company within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006, but are derived from those accounts, which have been prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006
This information has been prepared under the historical cost and financial assets and liabilities (including derivative instruments) at fair value through the profit and loss account. The same accounting policies, presentation and methods of computation are followed in the final financial statements as were applied in the Group's financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors have reported on those accounts. Their report was not qualified, did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report, and did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies after the Company's Annual General Meeting and will also be available on the Company's website (www.churchill1795.com) in May 2026.
8. Statement of Directors' responsibilities in respect of the financial statements
We confirm to the best of our knowledge that:
The Group Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Statements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Group; and ·
The announcement includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
Latest directors dealings
- 2 days ago City of London Investment Group
- 2 days ago Aberdeen Group plc
- 2 days ago NATWEST GROUP
- 2 days ago Ondo Insurtech
- 2 days ago Banco Santander S.A.