Financial Summary

• Highlights
  • Revenue of £302.4m (2023: £316.3m), 0.3% growth on a constant currency basis, 2.7% decline on a like-for-like (“LFL”) basis
  • Gross margin expansion to 45.3% (2023: 44.8%).
  • All three geographic regions have delivered gross margin improvement
  • Adjusted operating profit £40.1m (2023: £43.2m), representing operating margins of 13.3% (2023: 13.7%) and 30bps margin accretion on a constant currency basis
  • Adjusted net cash inflow from operating activities of £36.4m; conversion of 90.8%
  • Net debt of £68.2m excluding IFRS16 lease liabilities (2023: £31.6m), representing leverage of 1.3x adjusted EBITDA in line with <1.5x guidance
• Operational performance
  • Essentra’s disciplined approach to cost control and procurement activities, whilst retaining flexibility within operations to align with demand, is driving efficiencies and helping to mitigate the effect of volume decline EMEA LFL revenue decline of 4.2%, with softening market conditions through the second half, in line with external indicators
  • Americas reported 3.9% LFL revenue decline; the pace of decline eased from Q2 onwards, benefiting from stability across distributor end-market channels
  • APAC reported 7.0% LFL revenue growth, supported by an improvement in the export market to the rest of Asia, reflecting the growth of access hardware sales and new customer projects
• Outlook
  • The Board’s expectations for FY2025 remains unchanged
  • Management remains focused on delivering operational efficiencies, enhancing its “hassle-free” customer proposition and continues to selectively invest in growth initiatives
  • The Group is taking a cautious view on the timing of any material improvement in end-market conditions, and expect market recovery to vary by region.
  • Essentra remains well-positioned to deliver strong strategic progress, and to benefit from strong operating leverage, as markets improve