24 September 2026, 7:00am · Results

Interim results 2026

Swift & Hale plc (SWH)

Swift & Hale plc, the walking and camping retailer, announces its unaudited results for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026 (H1 FY27). Revenue rose 4.4% to £201.1m and profit before tax rose 3.7% to £11.3m.

Highlights

There were no adjusting items in either half, so adjusted and statutory profit are the same. Like-for-like sales, free cash flow and net cash are alternative performance measures, defined in the Annual Report and Accounts 2026.

At 1 August 2026 we had 128 stores, 41 of them with a repair bench, both unchanged since 31 January 2026, and 2.24 million Club members (31 January 2026: 2.1 million).

Chief Executive's comment

Tom Penhallow, Chief Executive, said:

"Sales grew 4.4% against a strong first half last year, when a warm June sold a lot of tents early. This spring was colder and wetter, so camping started late, then caught up in a dry July. Our benches mended a fifth more kit than a year ago, and footwear moved onto the new planning system in July without stores noticing the change. We go into the autumn with stock in good shape, Kendal opening at the end of October and six new repair benches to open by the end of January."

Trading in the half

Like-for-like sales grew 2.8%: 2.9% in the first quarter and 2.7% in the second. February and March were mild and dry, and boots and day packs sold well. The end of April and most of May were cold and wet, which held back early camping. June was mixed and July dry, and tents, sleeping bags and stoves caught up in the last six weeks of the half. The second quarter was up against a warm June last year, when like-for-like sales in the first half grew 5.0%.

Online sales grew 11.1% and reached 36% of the total. Customers collected 42% of online orders from a store (FY26 41%), and those sales count as online. Revenue grew faster than like-for-like sales because the six stores we opened in FY26 are not yet all in the like-for-like base. They more than made up for the sales of the two stores we closed last year.

Progress on our priorities

Closer to the path

We did not open any stores in the half, so we still have 128. We have signed leases for four stores, all opening in the second half: Kendal on 29 October and Killarney in November, then Settle and Pitlochry in January 2027, ready for the spring. Kendal and Killarney will have hire counters. That is four openings this year rather than the six we planned in April. The other two sites have moved into FY28 while we finish negotiating their leases, and we still aim to open five to seven stores a year from FY28.

Kit that lasts

Our 41 benches completed 26,800 repairs, up 21%, and we are on course for more than 55,000 in the year. Six new benches will open between October and January, taking the total to 47. Hale Again sold 4,100 items in the half from its 14 stores and online, against 2,600 a year ago. Ten more stores will start selling it by the end of January, taking it to 24.

More people outside

The Club grew to 2.24 million members. Stores led 1,780 walks, and we expect more than 3,300 in the year. Schools and youth groups made 11,900 hire bookings, most of them for summer-term trips.

A simpler business

Footwear went live on the new merchandise planning system in July. Buyers now plan, buy and allocate boots in one place, and the old system runs alongside it through the autumn. We will not move any other category between October and January. Waterproofs and layers and equipment follow from February 2027. At Huntworth we have added sortation capacity and changed carrier collection times before the Christmas peak.

Financial review

Gross margin

Gross margin fell 20 basis points to 52.8%. Own brands rose to 62% of sales and added about 20bps. The dollars we use to buy stock for FY27 were bought forward at less favourable rates than last year's, which took off about 40bps. Freight rates were close to last year's.

Operating costs

Operating costs rose 4.0% to £92.0m, a little slower than sales, and fell to 45.7% of revenue (H1 FY26 46.0%). Staff costs rose 6.2% to £49.9m. In April we raised the store base rate to £13.45 an hour, the new real Living Wage, and pay across the workforce rose by 4.5% on average. The stores we opened last year had a full half of colleague costs, and we began recruiting for Kendal in the summer. Depreciation and amortisation rose to £17.2m (H1 FY26 £16.5m), mainly because last year's new stores and the extra sortation equipment at Huntworth were depreciated for the whole half. Other costs fell slightly to £24.9m (H1 FY26 £25.0m), because savings at Huntworth and lower energy prices covered the cost of more parcels.

Operating profit rose 4.4% to £14.2m, a margin of 7.1%, the same as a year earlier. The first half is the smaller half of our year for profit as well as sales, because Christmas and the autumn waterproof season fall in the second.

Finance costs, tax and earnings

Net finance costs were £2.9m (H1 FY26 £2.7m), almost all interest on lease liabilities. The tax charge of £2.9m is an effective rate of 26%. Basic earnings per share rose 3.4% to 9.2p, on a weighted average of 90.9 million shares (H1 FY26 90.8 million).

Cash flow and net cash

Capital expenditure of £9.0m paid for refits, extra sortation capacity at Huntworth, the footwear stage of the merchandise planning system and the start of the fit-out at Kendal. It was lower than a year ago because we opened no stores in the half, and most of this year's spending on new stores and repair benches falls in the second half. Inventories were £94.0m (2 August 2025 £90.8m), up 3.5%, with autumn and winter stock arriving at the end of the half. The employee benefit trust bought 280,000 shares for £0.9m to meet future share awards. We paid the FY26 final dividend of £5.6m in July.

Net cash at the half-year end was £33.9m, £7.7m more than a year earlier. We had no borrowings, and the £40m revolving credit facility, committed to September 2028, was not drawn at any point in the half. Liquidity, meaning cash plus the undrawn facility, was £73.9m.

Share buyback

The board said in April that it would consider a buyback if net cash stayed above about £30m through the seasonal low point in October, when autumn and winter stock has been paid for and Christmas trading has not yet come in. We now expect net cash at this year's low point to be about £28m, after paying for autumn and winter stock and the fit-outs at Kendal and Killarney. That is higher than last year but below the board's threshold, so we are not starting a buyback. The board will look at it again with the full-year results in April 2027.

Interim dividend

The board has declared an interim dividend of 3.2p per share (H1 FY26 3.0p), up 6.7%, at a cost of about £2.9m. It will be paid on 20 November 2026 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 16 October 2026. The ex-dividend date is 15 October 2026.

Outlook

Like-for-like sales in the first seven weeks of the second half, to 19 September 2026, are up 3.1%.

We will open Kendal, Killarney, Settle and Pitlochry, add six repair benches, take Hale Again to ten more stores and keep the merchandise planning system as it is until after Christmas. With four openings this year rather than six, we now expect capital expenditure of £22m to £24m (previously £24m to £26m). We still expect an effective tax rate of about 26%. We expect adjusted profit before tax for FY27 to be in line with market expectations. The company-compiled consensus for FY27 adjusted profit before tax is £32.8m, with a range of £32.1m to £33.6m.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principal risks for the rest of the year are the ten set out in the Annual Report and Accounts 2026 and are unchanged. Weather and seasonality matters most in the second half, because autumn and Christmas trading make up most of the year's profit. Technology change remains a raised risk while the merchandise planning system runs alongside the old one. Cyber security and customer data remains a raised risk during the online peak.

Going concern

The directors have reviewed the group's forecasts to 30 September 2027, including the severe but plausible scenarios used in the viability statement. With net cash, no borrowings and an undrawn £40m facility, they have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources for that period, and they have prepared the interim financial statements on a going concern basis.

Basis of preparation

The condensed interim financial statements for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026 are prepared under IAS 34, Interim Financial Reporting, as adopted in the UK. They are unaudited and have been reviewed by the auditor, Penrose Lyle LLP. Figures for FY26 come from the statutory accounts for the 52 weeks to 31 January 2026, which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Results presentation

Tom Penhallow and Anjali Mercer will present the results to analysts by video call at 9.30am today. A recording is available on request from investor relations.

About Swift & Hale

Swift & Hale has sold walking and camping kit since Peggy Swift and Martin Hale opened their first shop in Dorchester in 1973. It has 128 stores in the UK and Ireland, mostly in market towns near national parks and trails, a website, an app and a printed catalogue. Its own brands are Hale, the durable range with a lifetime repair promise on waterproofs and packs, and Swift, the lightweight range.

Cautionary statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. The directors make them in good faith, based on the information available to them today. They relate to future events, involve risk and uncertainty, and actual results may differ materially. Swift & Hale will not update them except where law or regulation requires it. Nothing in this announcement is a profit forecast.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation. The person responsible for arranging its release on behalf of Swift & Hale plc is Claire Hollins, Company Secretary.

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