ME Group shows slight increase in sales for six months ending April, despite photobooth slowdown
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
European self-service technology company ME Group International reported largely stable first-half financial results as strong growth in its expanding self-service laundry business helped offset weaker demand for traditional photobooth services. For the six months ended April 30, 2026, revenue increased 0.3% to £154.3 million, while EBITDA rose 7.1% to £57.0 million, maintaining a healthy EBITDA margin of 36.9%. Profit before tax declined 3.8% to £32.7 million, reflecting softer trading late in the reporting period. Diluted earnings per share fell to 6.48 pence from 6.74 pence a year earlier.
The company said trading was generally in line with expectations during the first five months of the fiscal year. Still, April revenue was affected by lower photobooth usage in several markets. Management attributed some of the weakness to disruptions related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Laundry operations continued to be the company’s primary growth engine. Wash.ME revenue increased by 16.3% to £54.8 million, now accounting for more than 38% of group revenue and 54% of EBITDA. ME Group installed 499 net new laundry machines during the first half and expects to install approximately 800 more in the second half, keeping it on track to add about 1,300 machines during fiscal 2026.
A key milestone was the signing of a nationwide partnership with ASDA in the United Kingdom, the largest laundry agreement in the company’s history. The retailer will host ME Group-operated laundry machines across its store network. The company also secured a new agreement with Aldi Austria covering an initial rollout of 25 laundry machines and 25 photobooths.
In France, ME Group renewed two important long-term transportation contracts—a seven-year agreement with SNCF and a five-year contract with RATP—representing more than £9 million in revenue.
“Despite a challenging end to the period, largely driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict, I am pleased the Group has continued to make good strategic progress as we continue to diversify and evolve the business mix, with laundry operations now contributing more than 38% of Group revenue and 54% of Group EBITDA,” said Serge Crasnianski, CEO and deputy chairman. “During the period, we secured new strategic partnerships, notably with ASDA in the UK, and successfully renewed key multi-year contracts in France, supporting our ongoing expansion plans, particularly for laundry operations. The Group continues to invest in core activities of laundry and photobooth services. Innovation and diversification remain a key part of our strategy, ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of our consumers every day, as evidenced by the recent rollout of our new dog-wash machine.
“The Group’s predictable revenue streams and highly cash-generative business model support our long-term growth strategy. We are on track to deliver a full-year performance in line with revised expectations, and we remain well-positioned for long-term success.”
The company continues investing heavily in expansion, with capital expenditures totaling £33.9 million during the first half. More than two-thirds of that spending supported laundry growth and photobooth operations. ME Group also expanded its service portfolio with approximately 200 dog-wash machines following a successful pilot program, while its Wash.ME mobile app surpassed 100,000 downloads in France.
Looking ahead, management said trading rebounded in May and June. Total vending revenue in May rose 11.1% year over year, led by a 25.9% increase in laundry revenue. The company expects full-year profit before tax to be between £69 million and £74 million while continuing to expand its core laundry and photobooth businesses despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
KEY FINANCIALS
|
H1 2026 |
H1 2025 |
||
|
Reported |
Constant Currency1 |
Reported |
|
|
Revenue |
£154.3m |
£151.7m |
£153.8m |
|
EBITDA3 |
£57.0m |
£55.6m |
£53.2m |
|
Profit before tax |
£32.7m |
£31.9m |
£34.0m |
|
Cash generated from operations |
£38.7m |
n/a |
£47.7m |
|
Gross cash |
£52.8m |
£54.5m |
£66.4m |
|
Net cash4 |
£7.5m |
£9.4m |
£27.6m |
|
Earnings per share (diluted) |
6.48p |
6.28p |
6.74p |
|
Interim Dividend per ordinary share |
3.60p |
n/a |
3.85p |
1 Constant currency is H1 2026 results translated using the prior year foreign exchange rates. This excludes the impact from foreign exchange rate
movements (“FX impact”) over the past 12 months, particularly the Japanese yen which saw a 9.1% decrease in value against pound sterling (average rate of exchange used in H1 2026 was yen/£210.13 vs H1 2025 yen/£192.67), and a 3.9% increase in the euro against pound sterling (average rate of exchange used in H1 2026 was €/£1.147 vs H1 2025 €/£1.194).
2 Restatement of cash generated from operations, gross cash and net cash. Please refer to note 12 for details of the restatement.
3 EBITDA is profit before depreciation, amortisation, non-operating income/expense and finance cost and income.
4 Net cash excludes lease liabilities of £10.0 million. Refer to note 12 for the reconciliation of net cash to cash and cash equivalents per the financial statements.
