Midwich Group plc (MIDWF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Midwich Group plc ( MIDWF ) Q2 2026 Earnings Call September 22, 2026 4:30 AM EDT Company Participants Stephen Fenby - Group CEO & Director Adam Councell - Group CFO & Director Presentation Stephen Fenby Group CEO & Director Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the Midwich Group Interim Results Presentation. For people online, if you have any questions, please add them to the Q&A tab. So against the backdrop of global economic and geopolitical challenges such as the Middle East conflict, we sought to maximize the opportunities that are available to us. Revenue growth of 3.2% reflects strength in the U.K. and Ireland, U.S. and Iberia, which has more than compensated for declines in revenue in the Middle East and Germany. In terms of product areas, we saw significant growth in sales of UC products, which carry slightly lower gross margins. The group margins were also impacted by lower sales in the Middle East, where we carry higher-margin products generally. Our overheads were broadly flat with cost reduction programs that we undertook last year and to a lesser extent this year, largely offsetting inflation increases and some targeted investments. Our adjusted profit before tax was up 10.3%, but note that the comparative includes businesses that we closed in the second half of 2025. Excluding these, our profits were up 2.6%. And if we strip out the Middle East, which is obviously subject to the crisis, then our underlying profit was up around 20%, which I believe is a significant achievement given the backdrop to the period. Leverage of 2.4x at the half year was down slightly on the same period last year, and our full year expectation remains around 2x. Our interim dividend increased from 1.75p to 1.9p. We saw share growth, particularly in the U.K., Iberia and the U.S. and some good growth in our key strategic areas of audio, lighting and as I