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Investing.com -- 4imprint Group (LON:FOUR) plc shares fell 3.6% after the direct marketer of promotional products reported a 1% decrease in revenue to $659.4 million for the first half of 2025, reflecting challenging market conditions and weaker new customer acquisition.
Despite the revenue decline, the company managed to improve its operating profit margin to 10.7% from 10.5% in the same period last year, with operating profit increasing 1% to $70.7 million.
The company cited modest price adjustments and minimal supplier cost increases as key factors supporting margins. Profit before tax rose 1% to $74 million, while basic earnings per share increased 2% to 197.4 cents.
The promotional products industry has faced significant headwinds, with the Advertising Specialty Institute reporting market declines of 3.6% and 3.2% in the first and second quarters of 2025, respectively. 4imprint received 1,054,000 total orders in the first half, down 3% YoY, with new customer acquisition dropping 13% to 217,000 orders.
"Despite some market challenges and an anticipated level of rising product cost due to tariffs in the second half, the Board expects that full year Group revenue and profit before tax will remain within the current range of analysts’ forecasts," said Paul Moody, Chairman of 4imprint.
The company maintained its interim dividend at 80 cents per share. Cash and bank deposits stood at $102.3 million at the end of the period, down 16% from $121.5 million a year earlier, after paying $119.9 million in 2024 final and special dividends during the first half.
4imprint’s business model continued to demonstrate resilience with strong cash generation, producing free cash flow of $74.6 million in the period, up from $59.1 million in the first half of 2024.
The company noted that while existing customer retention remained encouraging, the environment for new customer acquisition has been challenging.