Howden Joinery Group Plc has reported steady growth in 2025, increasing revenue and profit in what it still describes as a challenging UK kitchen market.
For the 52 weeks to 27 December 2025, group revenue rose 4.1% to £2.418 billion (2024: £2.322bn). In the UK, sales were up 3.8% to £2.333bn, or 2.6% on a same-depot basis, as the business balanced price and volume and benefited from gains against a modestly contracting market.
International revenue increased 13.5% to £84.8m, with 9.3% growth on a same-depot basis in local currency.
Gross margin improved by 110 basis points to 62.7%, supported by price increases at the start of the year, higher volumes and ongoing sourcing and manufacturing efficiencies. Gross profit increased to £1.515bn (2024: £1.431bn).
Operating profit rose 4.7% to £355.3m (2024: £339.2m), with the operating margin edging up to 14.7%. Profit before tax was 5.1% ahead at £344.9m, while basic earnings per share increased 7.9% to 49.2p.
The business generated £537.6m in cash before working capital movements and ended the year with £344.5m in cash, broadly flat on 2024. Capital expenditure (capex) totalled £156.5m, including the £31m freehold purchase of its Runcorn manufacturing site.
Excluding this one-off, capex was £125.5m, in line with the prior year as the group continued to invest in new depots, digital systems and manufacturing capacity.
Howdens said its differentiated trade-only model helped it gain further market share despite ongoing kitchen market headwinds. In the UK, 23 new depots were opened during the year, 18 of them in the final two trading periods, taking the total to 891.
A further 60 depots were reformatted, and the business said it has line of sight to around 1,000 UK depots over time.
Investment in product and manufacturing remained a focus. The company progressed a multi-year upgrade of its rigid cabinet and panel facility at Runcorn, aimed at increasing capacity and lowering cost of goods over time.
Commenting on the results Andrew Livingston, chief executive said: “The business advanced on all fronts in the year. We gained market share and delivered a strong operational performance with profit growth ahead of sales.
“Alongside this, we continued to invest in our strategic initiatives which is helping our trade customers win more business while making our operations more efficient and productive.
“For 2026, our planning assumption is that the UK kitchen market will be level year on year, following several years of decline, in what remains a competitive marketplace.”
Looking ahead, the group’s planning assumption is for the UK kitchen market to be flat in 2026 after several years of decline. It expects around £30m of further inflationary cost headwinds but says these will be mitigated, where possible, through productivity gains.
