Nichols AIM:NICL
- Founded
- 1908 · Newton-le-Willows, England
- Incorporated
- United Kingdom
- Chief executive
- Andrew Milne
- Employees
- 296
- Reports in
- GBP
- Companies House
- 00238303
Soft drinks group that owns Vimto, the fruit cordial and carbonate brand with a strong UK position and surprising international depth, particularly Ramadan-driven sales in the Middle East and Africa, plus an out-of-home dispense drinks business. Founded in 1908 and still family-influenced.
Read straight from the annual reports
1,085p at close on 2 Oct 2026 · 11 reported years, 2015–2025
| Line | FY201512/15 | FY201612/16 | FY201712/17 | FY201812/18 | FY201912/19 | FY202012/20 | FY202112/21 | FY202212/22 | FY202312/23 | FY202412/24 | FY202512/25 | FY2026unreported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ||||||||||||
| Gross profit | vs 69.2 | |||||||||||
| Operating profit | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted operating profit | — | |||||||||||
| Exceptional items | vs 0 | |||||||||||
| Net finance cost | vs (0.08) | |||||||||||
| Profit before tax | vs 30.4 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted profit before tax | — | — | ||||||||||
| Tax charge | ||||||||||||
| Profit for the year | vs 24.4 | |||||||||||
| EBITDA | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted minus statutory PBT | — | — | ||||||||||
| Basic EPS | ||||||||||||
| Diluted EPS | ||||||||||||
| Adjusted EPS | — | |||||||||||
| Dividend per share | — |
GBP millions, negatives in brackets. Per-share lines in pence, share counts in millions. later is what a following report restated the figure to; vs is a second reading that disagrees. The figure shown is the one the original filing printed, and both readings are kept. Click any figure: opens the report page it was read from, highlighted; shows how it was calculated. The share price above is drawn to the same columns: each close sits over the financial year it fell in.
11 years, at a glance
Dashed: Operating margin, in % on its own scale — read its shape, not its height against the bars.
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UK Packaged volume and pricing growth, driven by innovation (Wonderfuel, RTD, energy) and distribution gains
UK Packaged sales +3.1%, Vimto UK achieved highest-ever RSV of £129.1m; overall Nichols portfolio RSV £135m (+4.8%)
page 22Shift to a local concentrate production model in Africa (West Africa/Senegal)
International Packaged like-for-like revenue up 9.4% in Africa; Vimto Red Can production started in Senegal, sales up 34% in markets supplied from Senegal
page 32Shift to margin-enhancing concentrate model in Africa (lower revenue, higher margin)
Gross margin increased to 46.1% (2024: 45.7%); increased weighting of higher-margin concentrate sales in International
page 63New ERP system enabling cost management and purchasing efficiency
UK Packaged gross margin increased despite inflationary pressures, offset by disciplined cost management enhanced by ERP implementation
page 63£4.4m charge: Business change programme and systems development (ERP implementation)
page 134Looking ahead, we anticipate delivering another strong performance in 2026 despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Trading in 2026 to date has been positive and in line with our expectations.
page 25There were no material post balance sheet events relating to the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts
page 102Progressive, well-supported dividend policy. Final ordinary dividend of 18.7p proposed (2024: 17.1p), total ordinary dividend for the year of 33.7p (2024: 32.0p). No special dividend in 2025 (2024: 54.8p special dividend paid, £20.0m). Board intends to reduce dividend cover from 2.0x to 1.5x adjusted earnings during 2026 while still returning surplus cash to shareholders
page 7Directors adopted the going concern basis, having stress-tested severe but plausible downside scenarios (including Middle East geopolitical disruption). Auditor BDO LLP issued an unmodified (unqualified) opinion; sole key audit matter was the carrying value/valuation of brand support accruals. Group materiality was £1.68m (2024: £1.50m), based on 5% of profit before tax after adjusting for exceptional items.
page 110Read from C000909-AR-2025-ch.
10 annual reports read, FY2016 to FY2025
Open a year to see what its report said. Every line in it carries the page it was read from.
Sources: Companies House (10)
FY2026Next report expected 13 Mar 2027