- UK like-for-likes up 14.2%
- Progress in tough European market
- £12.5 million net cash buffer
Angling Direct (ANG:AIM) was in demand with investors after the fishing tackle and equipment retailer reported a 17% jump in first-half sales and insisted it was ‘comfortably trading in line’ with consensus expectations for the year ending 31 January 2026.
Analysts are currently calling for a 7% rise in revenue to £97.7 million and 10% growth in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) to £3.75 million, but a strong performance through the peak trading months of August and September could see those estimates upgraded.
Shares in the nets and rods seller rose 7% to 48p as the market also applauded progress on the continent, with the company’s first European store in Utrecht continuing to scale customers and revenue as it trades through its first full angling season.
REELING IN REVENUES
Shares highlighted Angling Direct as a ‘great growth catch’ at 36p on 23 May 2024, flagging its market leadership in the UK, where it is using its strong balance sheet to open new stores, as well as its exciting long-run potential in the fragmented European market.
The Norfolk-headquartered firm’s total revenue grew 17% to £53.6 million in the half ended 31 July 2025 driven by a combination of new stores and like-for-like growth both in stores and online.
UK like-for-like sales grew by 14.2%, supported by increased store footfall and the continued growth of the company’s MyAD customer loyalty club to over 496,000 subscribers at 31 July, up from 409,000 in January 2025 and reaching 500,000 in August 2025.
PLENTY TO CROWE ABOUT
EU sales increased by 5.1% to £2.5 million and Angling Direct’s Utrecht store, which has now traded for one year, saw a near-trebling of customer numbers year-on-year across June and July.
Nevertheless, Angling Direct cautioned that the digital European market remains ‘challenging’ and as such, ‘the digital European business continued its focus on its key markets of Germany and the Netherlands, with sales increasing in those territories’.
Chief executive Steve Crowe commented: ‘Our increasing customer appeal underpinned by our loyalty fishing club, MyAD, and the associated growth of revenues in our existing UK stores and digital platforms, provides us with further confidence in achieving our medium-term UK revenue target of £100 million.’
Crowe also called out ‘pleasing progress on gross margin development against the inflationary cost base backdrop. Our focus remains on delivering the best value, flexibility and service for our customers and we are pleased to have opened two new stores to date, and the new openings pipeline remains strong.’
Canaccord Genuity, which has a 60p price target for Angling Direct, said: ‘We believe the strong first-half performance leaves our full-year 2026 forecasts well-underpinned ahead of the seasonal peak trading period. We leave forecasts unchanged at this stage (full-year 2026 revenues of £96.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of £3.7 million), but believe there could be upside risk to forecasts once peak trading is completed, and we will review again at the interims due on 7 October.’
Singer Capital Markets observed: ‘This performance leaves forecast risk to the upside, albeit there are still several key trading weeks ahead and, absent some cooler/wetter weather, the headwind from low water levels (drought) could eat into that.’
