Princes Group Q3 2026 Trading Update
Summary by AI BETAClose X
10 November 2026
PRINCES GROUP PLC
(“Princes Group”, the “Group” or the “Company”)
Trading update for the nine months ended 30 September 2026
Profitable growth with strategic momentum
Princes Group plc (LSE: PRN), a leading international food and beverage group operating across the United Kingdom and Europe, today announces a trading update for the nine months ended 30 September 2026.
9M 2026 financial highlights
- Revenue increased by 10.0% year on year to £1.52 billion, driven by the integration of recent of acquisitions. including Princes France S.A.S., Newlat GmbH and Plasmon.
- Adj. EBITDA increased by 6.4% to £116.2 million, with Adj. EBITDA margin stable at 7.7% vs. 7.9% in 2025 despite the material impact of higher input costs, particularly in energy and fuel.
- Underlying Free Cash Flow generation remained strong at £88.4 million for the period, implying a FCF conversion rate of 77%, supporting a further strengthening of the Group’s balance sheet and liquidity profile.
- Net cash increased to £368.7 million at 30 September 2026 (£470.7 million excluding IFRS 16 liabilities), compared with £311.1 million at 31 December 2025 (£394.6 million excluding IFRS 16 liabilities).
Q3 2026 financial highlights
- Revenue growth of 3.3% in Q3, on a like for like basis (excluding acquisitions) was delivered by the continued improvement in the fish and oils business units more than offsetting a softer trading performance in Foods, Drinks and Italian Products. The first round of price increases, implemented from July, accounted for approximately 70% of the Q3 top-line performance.
- Adj. EBITDA increased by 8.5% to £37.8 million, driven by enlarged operational scale, synergy delivery and continued cost discipline.
Operational highlights
- Effective management of inflationary pressures, with pricing actions implemented during Q3 supporting the recovery of higher input costs and protecting profitability. The Group is initiating further customer negotiations to secure the full pass-through of additional cost inflation.
- Strong trading momentum is continuing into Q4, despite ongoing inflationary pressures and broader market uncertainty, supported by strong commercial execution and resilient demand across the Group's portfolio.
- Sustained commercial momentum in Italian tomato operations, with sales already secured for the entire 2026 production campaign, supporting approximately £130 million of incremental revenue, predominantly expected to be recognised during 2027.
- Continued investment in brand development and innovation, with new product launches and marketing initiatives across key European markets, including Napolina, Princes, Branston beans, Delverde and Plasmon, supporting brand growth, category expansion and deeper customer engagement.
- Accelerating brand launches into the Italian retail market through collaboration with GS (formerly Carrefour Italia)
- Planning now well advanced for integration of Santa Vittoria into Princes Group in early 2027
- Additional M&A processes are ongoing, with the Company confident in its existing
- acquisition pipeline with new targets also identified
- Confidence in the Group's outlook, underpinned by a strong pipeline of commercial opportunities, continued operational improvements and a clear focus on progressing towards its medium-term adjusted EBITDA margin target of 9%.
- Confidence in delivering full-year expectations, supported by resilient trading performance, strong commercial momentum and continued operational discipline.
Giuseppe Mastrolia, Interim CEO of Princes Group, commented:
"Our performance over the first nine months of 2026 demonstrates the resilience of our business and the strength of our strategy, particularly against the backdrop of a challenging UK economic environment, persistent inflationary pressures and continued consumer uncertainty.
Despite these headwinds, trading momentum remains positive into the fourth quarter, supported by disciplined commercial execution and operational improvements. Recent commercial wins across the UK and Europe, increased share of existing customer business and continued expansion of our product offering demonstrate the strength of our commercial strategy and our ability to capture new growth opportunities. The increase in demand for our ambient food products following the UK Government's Be Ready campaign, further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions.
"We continue to take proactive measures to protect profitability, through disciplined pricing and further customer negotiations to recover rising costs. Combined with ongoing improvements in operational efficiency and our focus on commercial excellence, these actions support our confidence in progressing towards our medium-term adjusted EBITDA margin target of 9%.
“With positive trading momentum, a strong pipeline of opportunities and a clear strategic direction, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable profitable growth and create long-term value for shareholders."
Operational update
Brand Development and Innovation
The Group continued to advance its brand development and innovation strategy across its key European markets, supported by multi-year growth plans and an enhanced new product development process.
In the UK, Princes launched a national Napolina brand campaign alongside the introduction of Napolina Sauces, while Princes Ocean Select Tuna was launched with positive customer engagement. Branston 5 Star Beans continued to outperform the wider category, while Princes was named UK Seafood Brand of the Year for the third consecutive year.
The introduction of Princes Tuna into the Italian retail market through GS (formerly Carrefour Italia) has exceeded initial expectations, demonstrating the commercial opportunities arising from collaboration across the wider NewPrinces Group. The launch of 11 SKUs has achieved distribution across 880 stores as at the end of October, significantly ahead of the initial target of 700, while consumer sell-out has exceeded €2 million, reaching the full-year target two months ahead of schedule. Volume share has also increased from 12.8% to 15.4%, supporting plans to accelerate further development.
In Italy, Plasmon continued to benefit from sustained brand investment, with further product extensions planned. These initiatives reflect the Group's focus on strengthening brand equity, expanding into complementary categories and leveraging its international platform to drive profitable growth.
Across continental Europe, Delverde expanded its German portfolio with the launch of pasta sauces and pestos, alongside the introduction of Birkel High Protein Pasta.
Commercial update
The Group continued to make strong commercial progress during the period, securing new business across multiple product categories, expanding relationships with major UK retailers and increasing its share of existing customer contracts.
These wins further demonstrate the strength of Princes' commercial proposition, underpinned by its diversified manufacturing footprint, and highlight the Group's ability to leverage its integrated manufacturing and commercial capabilities across markets to deepen customer relationships and support sustainable future growth.
In Foods, the Group secured new soup business and increased its share of existing baked beans contracts, supporting utilisation across its UK canning operations. Princes also secured a new annual customer own-brand tuna contract with a leading UK grocery retailer, commencing in Q2 2027, reflecting its competitive positioning and strong sustainability standards.
In Drinks, the Group secured a two-year contract to supply lunchbox cartons from Q1 2027, positioning the business to capture opportunities arising from evolving packaging requirements and the planned introduction of the UK Deposit Return Scheme. Additional wins included new soft drinks business across orange, cranberry and blackcurrant products, supporting production at the Group's Bradford and Cardiff facilities, alongside new ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage and alcohol-free gin listings, representing the first UK commercial win for the Santa Vittoria facility in Italy, which is expected to be included in the Princes perimeter in early 2027.
The Group also secured a new tomato purée contract with a leading UK grocery retailer, commencing in Q1 2027, marking the first supply of this product to the customer from Princes Italia.
These commercial wins are expected to contribute to the Group's performance from 2027 onwards, supporting revenue growth, increased capacity utilisation and further operational efficiencies across its manufacturing network.
Italian Tomato Operations
The Group delivered strong commercial performance in its Italian tomato business, having already secured sales for the entire 2026 production campaign, reflecting the successful execution of management's enhanced commercial strategy and providing strong visibility on future revenue generation. This commercial momentum was supported by a record tomato processing campaign at the Group's Foggia facility, successfully completed at the end of September, achieving production volumes in excess of 200,000 tonnes, more than double the prior year's output, as previously indicated at the Half-Year results.
The significant increase in volumes reflects strengthened procurement and harvesting capabilities, alongside a continued focus on operational excellence. Initiatives included the introduction of a pilot tomato-growing field in Foggia, aimed at further enhancing agricultural expertise and supporting future operational improvements.
With sales secured for the entire campaign, the Group expects to generate approximately £130 million of incremental revenue, with a limited contribution anticipated in Q4 2026 and the majority expected to be recognised progressively throughout 2027.
Outlook
The Group enters the final quarter of 2026 with positive trading momentum, supported by continued commercial execution, operational discipline and a diversified portfolio of products and markets. Despite ongoing inflationary pressures and broader macroeconomic uncertainty, current trading remains resilient, reinforcing management's confidence in the underlying strength of the business.
Since the launch of the UK Government's Be Ready campaign on 22 October 2026, which encourages households to maintain three days' worth of essential supplies, including non-perishable food, the Group has experienced an increase in demand across its ambient food portfolio, particularly canned fish, meat, fruit and vegetables.
Management remains focused on protecting profitability through disciplined cost management, operational efficiencies and proactive pricing initiatives. Building on the pricing actions implemented earlier in the year, Princes is initiating further negotiations with customers to secure the full pass-through of additional input cost inflation, supporting margin resilience in the current operating environment.
The Group remains confident in delivering its full-year 2026 expectations, supported by resilient trading performance, continued commercial momentum and disciplined operational execution. Despite ongoing inflationary pressures and broader macroeconomic uncertainty, the Board remains confident in the Group's ability to achieve its full-year objectives, while continuing to make progress towards its medium-term adjusted EBITDA margin target of 9%.
Supplemental information
|
9M 2026 Revenue by Business Unit |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2026 (£’000) |
2025 (£’000) |
YoY Change (%) |
|
Foods |
450,832 |
447,255 |
0.8% |
|
Drinks |
220,046 |
235,109 |
-6.4% |
|
Fish |
280,594 |
272,470 |
3.0% |
|
Italian Products |
341,918 |
218,481 |
56.5% |
|
Oils |
222,080 |
203,833 |
9.0% |
|
Group Total |
1,515,470 |
1,377,148 |
10.0% |
|
9M 2026 Revenue by Country |
|
| ||
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
2026 (£’000) |
2025 (£’000) |
YoY Change (%) | |
|
United Kingdom |
996,032 |
1,009,384 |
-1.3% | |
|
Italy |
155,163 |
66,975 |
131.7% | |
|
Germany |
87,532 |
56,208 |
55.7% | |
|
Other Countries |
276,743 |
244,581 |
13.1% | |
|
Group Total |
1,515,470 |
1,377,148 |
10.0% | |
|
9M 2026 Revenue by Channel |
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
|
|
2026 (£’000) |
2025 (£’000) |
YoY Change (%) |
|||||||||
|
Large food retailers |
1,252,400 |
1,119,842 |
11.8% |
|||||||||
|
B2B partners |
157,758 |
160,440 |
-1.7% |
|||||||||
|
Food service |
105,312 |
96,866 |
8.7% |
|||||||||
|
Group Total |
1,515,470 |
1,377,148 |
10.0% |
|||||||||
|
9M 2026 Adj. EBITDA and Adj. EBITDA margin by Business Unit |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
2026 |
2025 |
||||||||
|
|
Adj. EBITDA (£’000) |
Adj. EBITDA |
Adj. EBITDA (£’000) |
Adj. EBITDA | ||||||
|
Margin |
Margin | |||||||||
|
Foods |
40,719 |
9.0% |
46,679 |
10.4% | ||||||
|
Drinks |
12,913 |
5.9% |
13,192 |
5.6% | ||||||
|
Fish |
17,092 |
6.1% |
15,026 |
5.5% | ||||||
|
Italian Products |
35,600 |
10.4% |
26,872 |
12.3% | ||||||
|
Oils* |
7,796 |
3.5% |
7,583 |
3.7% | ||||||
|
Other ** |
2,075 |
|
(193) |
| ||||||
|
Group Total |
116,195 |
7.7% |
109,159 |
7.9% | ||||||
* The Oils Adj. EBITDA and Adj. EBITDA margin is reported on a 50% basis, reflecting the joint operation accounting treatment applied to EOL, the joint venture between Princes Group and ADM. On a 100% basis, Oils Adj. EBITDA would be £15.5 million (£15.0m), with an Adj. EBITDA margin of 7.0% (2025: 7.3%).
** Other represents EBITDA associated with non core business activities.
Enquiries
For further information, please contact:
|
Princes Group plc |
|
|
Benedetta Mastrolia, Investor Relations Director |
|
|
|
|
|
Barabino and Partners UK (Financial PR communications) |
+44 (0) 7542846844 |
|
Georgia Colkin / Caroline Merrell |
+44 (0)7852 210329 |
Princes Group plc
Princes Group is a leading international platform in the United Kingdom and European food and beverage sector. The Group operates across five business units: Foods, Fish, Italian, Oils, and Drinks and holds leading positions in both branded and customer own brand products.
The Group's branded portfolio includes well-known, trusted brands such as Princes, Napolina, Branston, Batchelors, Flora, Crisp 'N Dry, Delverde, Plasmon, Naked Noodle, and Vier Diamanten.
By combining industrial expertise with long-standing supply partnerships, Princes Group is a trusted partner to a diverse range of blue-chip customers, including major food retailers, B2B partners, and the foodservice industry, reaching over 8,000 clients globally and exporting to more than 60 countries.
Headquartered in Liverpool, UK, Princes Group generated £1.92 bn pro forma revenues in the year ended 31 December 2025, employs approximately 7,800 people and operates 24 production facilities across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and Mauritius, supported by 21 warehouses and distribution centres and three offices in the UK, Poland, and the Netherlands.
With a strong production network, the Group is well-positioned for future growth, consistently delivering quality, innovation, and reliable supply across multiple categories, while upholding its commitment to excellence and long-term customer relationships.
For more information, visit www.princesgroup.com.
END
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