Marks Electrical cuts profit forecast as HY sales slide

Marks Electrical has cut its profit forecast for the year after weaker sales in the first half, blaming subdued consumer spending and rising costs.

The online electrical retailer said revenue fell in both major domestic appliances and consumer electronics during the second quarter to 30 September, with customers remaining “highly price conscious” and reducing discretionary spending. Lower average order values also increased the relative cost of deliveries, the company said.

Distribution and overhead costs were also higher due to employee expenses and investment in a new enterprise resource planning system, though the group said it expected the technology to deliver efficiencies as trading improves.

Marks Electrical now expects adjusted EBITDA for the year to 31 March 2026 to be about £1.7m. The board has deferred a decision on paying an interim dividend until the full-year results.

Despite the weaker first half, the group said it had invested in stock ahead of its peak trading period and forecast that second-half revenue would be higher than the same period last year.

Mark Smithson, chief executive of Marks Electrical, said: “Clearly, I am very disappointed that sales in Q2-FY26 continued the trend we noted in our FY-25 preliminary announcement. That said, we have built a strong business over the last few years, with growing brand recognition, nationwide distribution and installation capability.

“We continue to focus on margin but with increasing employee costs and increased technology cost for our new ERP system, we have not yet been able to exploit the operating leverage effectively. With a more balanced product mix as we enter the peak period of our trading, we remain confident in a stronger H2 performance.”

The company said it would publish its interim results for the six months to 30 September on 13 November.