Portmeirion Pottery sinks deeper into the red as Asian sales falter

Portmeirion, the historic maker of ceramic tableware and cookware, has slipped further into the red as declining sales in Asia continue to weigh heavily on the company.

The London-listed group, which is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, saw its revenue fall to £36.6m in the first six months of 2024, down from £44.1m year on year.

As a result its pre-tax loss for the period widened to £2m, after it broke even in the first half of 2023.

Portmeirion, which specialises in luxury tableware, said the loss was in line with its board’s expectations after its sales in South Korea were impacted by a “challenging consumer environment” and “high stock levels taking more time to sell through”.

Despite this, the company said it had seen its sales increase in both the UK and the US.

Sales in the US were up 5 per cent and saw improved gross margins, while its UK saw an uptick of 11 per cent, which Portmeirion had been driven by further growth of its home fragrance division, Wax Lyrical.

Mike Raybould, chief executive, said: “We are pleased with the sales and gross margin growth in the US, our largest sales market.

“We have added new distribution in the US in the last six months and are confident that as the macroeconomics improve that we will see the benefit in our top line sales.

“Similarly, we continue to take market share in the UK Grocery channel with our new Wax Lyrical home fragrance ranges and with further new major listings since the half year, our factory in Cumbria continues to successfully ramp up production levels and efficiency. 

“As previously indicated, the group has seen reduced order flow in H1 2024 from our South Korean market as high levels of stock take time to sell through.

“However, we are encouraged that our brands continue to be in high demand in this market as evidenced by growing online sales and that our Botanic Garden tableware range remains in the top two for all online brand searches.

“Furthermore, we are accelerating new product launches to help support this market in the short term.

“Our brands continue to resonate globally and with a healthy Christmas order book, we are currently trading in line with board expectations and are on track to meet full year market expectations.”