New Balance UK Smashes £1 Billion Turnover With Soaring Profits

New Balance Athletic Shoes (UK) Limited experienced a significant surge in net profit during 2024, a robust performance attributed to impressive sales and margin growth across both its wholesale and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. The company highlighted that this uplift was a direct result of increasing consumer demand and the strengthening of its brand presence. This positive trend was not confined to the UK market alone, with a similar rise observed in intercompany sales, indicating that the success was largely replicated across its other subsidiaries, despite its UK arm also selling products to a wider global market.

The financial figures underscore a period of remarkable growth. For the first time, the company's turnover surpassed the £1 billion mark, rising by 16.3% year-on-year from £882 million to an impressive £1.026 billion. Delving deeper into regional performance, UK-specific turnover increased from £265.6 million to £301.1 million. The rest of Europe also saw substantial growth, with sales jumping from £606.3 million to £710.5 million. Even in the rest of the world, sales saw a healthy increase, climbing from £10.2 million to £14.4 million, demonstrating broad-based market expansion.

Profitability metrics also showcased considerable improvement. The gross margin saw a strong enhancement, reaching 45.7% compared to 41.5% in 2023. This notable gain was primarily driven by the expansion of DTC sales and enhanced supply chain efficiencies. Operating profit experienced a significant 19.5% jump, rising from £152.69 million to £199.66 million, building on a pleasing 17.3% increase in the preceding year. Furthermore, profit before tax was robust at £192.3 million, a substantial increase from £148.25 million in 2023, culminating in a net profit surge from £114.43 million to £143.93 million.

These latest figures confirm New Balance's trajectory of continuous growth, marking a strong comeback after a challenging period in the previous decade where the company had been loss-making on a pre-tax basis for several years, only returning to profitability in 2022. While no information regarding post-balance-sheet events was disclosed, the anticipated reopening of its flagship store on Oxford Street, London, this summer is expected to provide a significant boost to its UK turnover, signaling further potential for growth in the near future.