Interim Trading Statement
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Adnams plc - Interim Trading Statement
Adnams plc ("the Company"), the Suffolk-based premium beer, spirits and hospitality group, has published its results for the half-year to 30th June 2026.
The business has continued to make progress against a number of strategic and operational priorities during the first half of 2026, despite challenging conditions across both the hospitality and drinks sectors.
Company revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2026 was £27.4 million compared with £30.1 million in the corresponding period last year. As anticipated, the largest reduction in revenues resulted from the disposal of some tenanted pubs which completed during 2025. Excluding this expected impact, performance across most parts of the business was resilient despite continued pressure on consumer spending and subdued trading conditions in the early part of the year.
Trading within the Company's managed pubs and hotels was below expectations during the first half of the year, leading to the implementation of a series of operational, commercial and labour management initiatives. Complemented by an extended period of very favourable weather and the football World Cup, the Company has been encouraged by the early results, with its managed estate delivering like-for-like revenue growth of 3.3% and profit growth of 10% in July.
Within Retail, the Company has started to see encouraging evidence that targeted investment can improve returns and outperform the market. Following the relocation of the Company's Bury St Edmunds store in December 2025, performance has improved significantly, with bottom-line profitability at the half year increasing five-fold compared with the previous location.
Direct free trade revenues were broadly flat compared with the prior year, reflecting the strength of customer relationships and the resilience of the Adnams brand in a difficult market. Trading with supermarkets also remained broadly in line with the previous year and continued to outperform the wider beer market, as a result of focused investment behind core brands and strong customer partnerships.
Encouragingly, the Ghost Ship family of brands has continued to outperform the total ale category by 2.1%, reinforcing its position as one of the UK's leading premium ale brands.
Performance within the national wholesale channel was below expectations and remains an area of focused recovery including the appointment of an experienced wholesale specialist to improve performance and identify new opportunities for growth within this important channel.
Operating expenses reduced by over £2 million compared with the first half of 2025, reflecting improvements in efficiency, overhead control and operational discipline across the business.
The Company's debt reduction programme has led to a 50% fall in interest to £0.4million, compared with £0.8 million in the corresponding period last year.
Operating loss before exceptional costs and gains on disposal of assets was £0.8 million compared with an operating profit of £0.5 million in the prior year. Exceptional costs reduced
significantly from £1.2 million to £0.2 million, and the Company generated gains on disposal of assets of £1.2 million during the period.
Reported operating loss was £1.0 million compared with £0.7 million in the first half of 2025. Loss before tax was £1.4 million, broadly in line with the previous year, whilst loss after taxation improved to £1.1 million from £1.4 million in the first half of 2025.
ENDS
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