Kitchen designer Howden Joinery (HWDN) delivered forecast-beating FY25 profits after continuing to take share in a UK kitchen market that has experienced several years of decline.
| Share price: 918p (+7.5%) | PE: 17.3x |
| Market cap: £4.6bn | Yield: 2.7% |
The FTSE 100 firm also launched a new £100 million share buyback for FY26. This helped to drive the stock up 7.5% to a six-month high of 918p.
Designs on growth
London-headquartered ‘Howdens’ sells kitchens and joinery products to trade customers, primarily local builders, through 891 UK depots.
The domestic market is large with significant future growth potential, yet Howdens also has designs on international growth.
The company operates about 80 depots in France, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland.
Cooking up gains
FY25 pre-tax profits ticked up 5.1% to a better-than-expected £344.9 million on a 4.1% increase in group revenue to £2.42 billion.
Despite a soft kitchen market, Howdens’ UK sales improved by 3.8% and international revenues rose 13.5% with its differentiated model gaining traction in France and the Republic of Ireland.
Gross margins improved 110 basis points to 62.7% as top-line growth and sourcing and manufacturing efficiencies helped offset cost inflation.
Strong cash generation underpinned a 3.3% hike in the FY25 total dividend to 21.9p and will support a fresh £100 million share buyback for FY26.
The UK kitchen market remains competitive. So there was relief among investors as Howdens said its year-to-date performance has been in line with management’s expectations.
While it is early in the new financial year, Howdens expects to deliver pre-tax profits in line with the £354 million consensus is calling for.
What did the CEO say?
‘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,’ explained Andrew Livingston.
‘Looking further ahead we have many significant longer-term growth opportunities, and our focus remains on continuing to deliver above‑market performance and enhanced returns for shareholders.’
Howdens is a quality, progressive dividend-payer that continues to exhibit resilience in the face of stiff market headwinds.
Having expanded its depot network and invested heavily in manufacturing and tools, we’d expect Howdens to outpace a flat UK kitchen market in 2026.
Further rate cuts and a housing market recovery would stir up tailwinds for the business.
Read the press release here: https://www.howdenjoinerygroupplc.com/investors/regulatory-news.asp
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