Historic ceramics maker Portmeirion slips to a loss despite ‘good’ Christmas

Portmeirion Group, the historic maker of ceramic tableware and cookware, slipped to a loss during 2023, it has been confirmed.

The company, whose brands include Portmeirion, Spode, Royal Worcester, Pimpernel, Wax Lyrical and Nambé, has reported a pre-tax loss of £8.5m for the year, down from a profit of £6.9m in the prior 12 months.

Portmeirion, which is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, also revealed its revenue had been cut from £110.8m to £102.7m.

The group said it had experienced a “good” Christmas trading period with “robust demand across our portfolio of consumer goods brands”.

On its current financial year, Portmeirion said it is on track to achieve its profit expectations, “supported by the reorganisation and restructuring of our cost base in the last few months to provide a significantly leaner operating model going forward”.

Chief executive Mike Raybould said: “Our brands continue to prove resilient despite the tougher economic backdrop for consumer goods.

“We are encouraged by our continued growth in ROW markets, a return to growth in our Wax Lyrical division and a good Christmas sales period.

“We expect US and UK markets will show modest growth in 2024 and are encouraged by our current US Christmas advance orders that are significantly ahead of last year.

“As we highlighted in January, Asian markets remain challenging, particularly sales in South Korea, which are expected to reduce in the first half of 2024 as stock levels in channels take longer to sell through.

“We will look to mitigate ongoing market conditions through an exciting line up of new product launches in 2024 targeted at both supporting our key heritage ranges and reaching new parts of the market. 

“We have been pleased with the initial reaction from customers at trade shows and at our showrooms through the first quarter of the year.”

The chief executive added: “We are confident in the strength and resilience of our brands that have over 750 years of combined heritage and continue to grow market share even in the current tough macro-economic environment.

“We are pleased with the continued strategic progress we have made and remain confident in our long term strategy to grow sales and improve operating margins.”