Ten measures we use beyond IFRS

Why we use each measure, how it is defined and where it reconciles to the financial statements.

We report ten alternative performance measures (APMs) alongside the IFRS measures. The board and the Executive Committee use them to set budgets and judge results, and several are standard UK retail measures that investors use to compare companies.

Why we use them

Statutory results include large or one-off items, such as store impairment and the cost of moving to a new distribution centre. The adjusted profit and earnings measures leave these out, so trading can be compared from year to year. Adjusted profit before tax is the main profit measure in the annual bonus, and growth in adjusted earnings per share is one of the LTIP measures (page 74).

Like-for-like sales growth shows how the existing business is trading, without the effect of store openings and closures. Free cash flow is the cash left after investing in stores and systems and paying for leases, and net cash is what we hold. Dividend cover tests the dividend against the board’s policy, and online share tracks the mix between channels.

APMs are not defined by IFRS, may not be comparable with measures of the same name at other companies, and do not replace the IFRS measures. We give statutory measures at least equal prominence and reconcile each APM to the closest IFRS measure. The definitions are unchanged from FY25.

How adjusting items are chosen

Note 2 sets out the policy and note 7 analyses the FY26 items. Reversals of store impairment are netted against impairment charges, so a reversal cannot raise adjusted profit. Costs that recur in running the business, such as pre-opening costs for new stores, refits and closing a store when its lease ends, stay in adjusted profit. The Audit and Risk Committee reviews the classification at each half year and year end.

From FY28, IFRS 18 will treat adjusted operating profit and adjusted profit before tax as management-defined performance measures, explained and reconciled in an audited note (note 1).

Our alternative performance measures
Measure	Definition	Closest IFRS measure	Reconciliation
Like-for-like sales growth	The change in sales against the same weeks of the previous year from stores that have traded for at least 52 weeks, plus online sales, including orders collected in store. A new store joins the base once it has traded for 52 weeks. A closed store leaves the base from the date of closure, and its sales in the comparative period are removed. Sales exclude VAT, include services, and are measured at constant currency, with Irish sales in both years translated at the current year’s average exchange rate. In a 53-week year the extra week is excluded.	Revenue growth	Below
Gross margin	Gross profit as a percentage of revenue.	Gross profit	Income statement; below
Adjusted operating profit	Operating profit before adjusting items.	Operating profit	Note 7; below
Adjusted profit before tax	Profit before tax before adjusting items.	Profit before tax	Note 7; below
Adjusted earnings per share	Profit after tax before adjusting items and their tax effect, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue, excluding shares held by the employee benefit trust.	Basic earnings per share	Note 11; below
Adjusted EBITDA	Adjusted operating profit before depreciation of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets, and amortisation of intangible assets.	Operating profit	Below
Free cash flow	Net cash from operating activities, less capital expenditure and lease payments (principal and interest), plus interest received less other interest and facility fees paid. It is the cash available for dividends, share purchases and other uses.	Net cash from operating activities	Below
Net cash	Cash and cash equivalents less borrowings. It excludes lease liabilities.	Cash and cash equivalents	Note 30; below
Dividend cover	Adjusted basic earnings per share divided by the total dividend per share for the year.	None	Below
Online share of sales	Revenue from the website, the app and the catalogue, including orders collected in store, as a percentage of total revenue.	Revenue	Note 5; below

Statutory and adjusted results

The difference between each statutory and adjusted figure is the adjusting items in note 7: £2.3m before tax in FY26 (tax credit £0.2m) and £1.7m in FY25 (tax credit £0.4m).

Statutory and adjusted results (£m unless stated)
	FY26 statutory	FY26 adjusted	FY25 statutory	FY25 adjusted
Operating profit	34.2	36.5	29.9	31.6
Profit before tax	28.9	31.2	25.8	27.5
Taxation	(7.5)	(7.7)	(6.7)	(7.1)
Profit after tax	21.4	23.5	19.1	20.4
Basic earnings per share	23.6p	25.9p	21.0p	22.4p
Effective tax rate	26.0%	24.7%	26.0%	25.8%

Like-for-like sales

Like-for-like sales grew by 4.1% in FY26 (FY25 3.3%): 5.0% in the first half and 3.3% in the second. Revenue grew faster, by 6.8%, because of the stores opened in FY25 and FY26, net of the two closures, and because a stronger euro raised the sterling value of Irish sales.

Like-for-like sales growth to revenue growth
	FY26
Like-for-like sales growth	4.1%
New stores and closures (percentage points)	2.5
Currency translation of Irish sales (percentage points)	0.2
Revenue growth	6.8%

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA adds back depreciation of right-of-use assets, so no lease cost is deducted from it, and it is not comparable with EBITDA measured before IFRS 16. The covenants in the revolving credit facility use a separate measure that excludes the effect of IFRS 16 (note 22).

	2026	2025
	£m	£m
Operating profit	34.2	29.9
Adjusting items	2.3	1.7
Adjusted operating profit	36.5	31.6
Depreciation and amortisation	33.8	30.9
Adjusted EBITDA	70.3	62.5

Free cash flow

	2026	2025
	£m	£m
Net cash from operating activities	65.3	52.6
Capital expenditure	(23.4)	(20.5)
Lease payments (principal and interest)	(26.7)	(21.0)
Net other interest	0.6	0.4
Free cash flow	15.8	11.5
Dividends paid	(7.8)	(7.3)
Purchase of own shares	(1.3)	(0.6)
Increase in net cash	6.7	3.6

Other measures

Gross margin, dividend cover, net cash and online share
	FY26	FY25
Gross profit (£m)	219.3	203.5
Revenue (£m)	418.6	392.1
Gross margin	52.4%	51.9%
Adjusted basic earnings per share	25.9p	22.4p
Total dividend per share for the year	9.2p	8.4p
Dividend cover (times)	2.8	2.7
Cash and cash equivalents (£m)	36.4	29.7
Borrowings (£m)	nil	nil
Net cash (£m)	36.4	29.7
Online revenue (£m)	150.7	129.4
Online share of sales	36%	33%

Net cash excludes lease liabilities of £118.4m (FY25 £116.0m). Including them, net debt was £82.0m (FY25 £86.3m), as shown in note 30.

Results from FY22 to FY26

Financial and operating results for the last five financial years, as reported in each year.

	2022	2023	2024*	2025	2026
Revenue (£m)	331.4	352.0	372.7	392.1	418.6
Like-for-like sales growth (%)	5.9	2.1	2.8	3.3	4.1
Gross margin (%)	51.6	50.8	51.4	51.9	52.4
Adjusted profit before tax (£m)	24.1	21.9	25.0	27.5	31.2
Statutory profit before tax (£m)	23.2	20.4	24.1	25.8	28.9
Basic earnings per share (p)	20.6	17.9	20.0	21.0	23.6
Dividend per share (p)	7.0	7.2	7.8	8.4	9.2
Net cash (£m)	18.2	21.5	26.1	29.7	36.4
Online share of sales (%)	31	31	32	33	36
Stores at year end	112	117	121	124	128
Club members (m)	1.1	1.3	1.5	1.8	2.1
Repairs completed (000)	21	26	32	39	48
Led walks	1,900	2,300	2,600	2,800	3,100
Colleague engagement (%)	76	77	79	80	81
Net promoter score	66	67	69	70	72
Scope 1 and 2 emissions, market-based (tCO2e)	2,450	2,010	1,620	1,380	1,120
Own-brand share of sales (%)	55	56	58	59	61

* FY24 was a 53-week period. On a 52-week basis, FY25 revenue grew by 7.1%.

Years are the group’s financial years, which end on the Saturday nearest to 31 January, so 2026 is FY26, the 52 weeks to 31 January 2026. All years are prepared under UK-adopted international accounting standards, including IFRS 16, and are shown as originally reported.

FY24 was a 53-week period to 3 February 2024. Like-for-like sales growth for FY24 and FY25 compares equivalent 52-week periods. Adjusted profit before tax excludes the adjusting items for each year under the policy in note 2. Net cash excludes lease liabilities. The alternative performance measures are defined on page 124, and the operating measures in the glossary.

Holding Swift & Hale shares

Dates for the year ahead, how to reach our registrar and how to avoid share fraud.

Financial calendar
Event	Date
Results for FY26 announced	15 April 2026
Annual Report and Accounts 2026 published	7 May 2026
Ex-dividend date for the final dividend	28 May 2026
Record date for the final dividend	29 May 2026
Annual general meeting	18 June 2026
Final dividend of 6.2p paid	3 July 2026
Interim results announced	24 September 2026
Financial year end (FY27)	30 January 2027

Annual general meeting

The AGM is at 11am on Thursday 18 June 2026 at Hale House, Fordington Fields, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 9SH. The notice of meeting comes with this report and is on our website.

You can appoint a proxy online through the registrar’s shareholder portal or on the proxy form. Appointments must reach the registrar by 11am on Tuesday 16 June 2026. You can send questions in advance to the Company Secretary at the registered office. Voting will be on a poll, and we will publish the results on our website and through a regulatory information service.

Registrar

Quayside Registrars keeps our share register. Contact them about your holding, dividends, a change of name or address, or a lost share certificate.

Quayside Registrars
Ropewalk House, 3 Chandlers Quay
Bristol BS1 9QR

Telephone 0117 496 0457 (+44 117 496 0457 from outside the UK), 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays in England and Wales.

On the Quayside shareholder portal you can view your holding and dividend history, update your address and bank details, appoint a proxy and choose to receive documents by email.

Dividends

We pay dividends only by direct credit to a bank or building society account. If the registrar does not have your bank details, it holds your dividend until you send them. Quayside also runs a dividend reinvestment plan. Under our articles, dividends unclaimed for 12 years are forfeited and return to the company.

Buying and selling shares

Quayside offers online and telephone dealing to shareholders with a UK address, or you can deal through any bank or stockbroker. Share prices can go down as well as up. If you are unsure what to do, take advice from an adviser authorised by the FCA.

Share fraud

Fraudsters may offer to buy your shares at a high price in return for an upfront fee, or sell you shares that are worthless or do not exist. Swift & Hale will never contact you to offer to buy or sell your shares. If you receive an unsolicited call, letter or email about your shares:

note the name of the person and the firm, then end the call;
check the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk to see whether the firm is authorised, and contact it only through the details on the Register;
check the FCA’s warning list at www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart; and
do not hand over money or personal details until you are sure the firm is genuine.

Report a suspected scam to the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768. If you have lost money, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or, in Scotland, to Police Scotland on 101.

Advisers

Advisers
Role	Adviser
Independent auditor	Penrose Lyle LLP, Statutory Auditor, Bristol
Joint corporate brokers	Harrow Street Securities; Calder Moss & Co.
Registrar	Quayside Registrars
Principal bankers	Wessex Mutual Bank; Northgate Bank
Solicitors	Fairley Grange LLP
Remuneration consultants	Thornbury Reward
Internal audit co-source provider	Linden Assurance

Terms used in this report

Definitions of the terms and abbreviations used most often in this report.

Adjusted profit before tax (adjusted PBT): Profit before tax excluding adjusting items. It is the main profit measure in the annual bonus.
Adjusting items: Income or costs shown separately because of their size or nature, such as store impairment and the cost of leaving the former distribution centre (note 7).
Alternative performance measure (APM): A financial measure not defined by IFRS, used alongside the statutory measures. Ours are defined and reconciled on page 124.
Basis point (bp): One hundredth of a percentage point: 50 basis points is 0.5 percentage points.
Breakage: The value of gift cards and Club repair credits that customers are expected never to use.
Club: The Swift & Hale Club, our free membership scheme, with 2.1 million members at the end of FY26. Members get free repairs on own-brand kit, members’ prices, a place on led walks and Club repair credits.
Club repair credits: Credit worth 2% of qualifying spend, which members can use on repairs, hire and kit. Credits issued from 1 May 2025 last 18 months.
Code: The UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, published by the Financial Reporting Council.
Destination store: One of our 18 larger stores (average 14,000 sq ft), each with a boot-fitting room, hire counter and repair bench.
Distribution centre (DC): Our 320,000 sq ft warehouse at Huntworth, near Bridgwater, Somerset, which serves every store and all online orders from one stock pool.
Employee benefit trust (EBT): The Swift & Hale Employee Benefit Trust, which holds shares to satisfy colleague share awards.
FY26: The 52 weeks ended 31 January 2026. FY25 is the 52 weeks ended 1 February 2025.
Hale Again: Pre-owned and refurbished own-brand kit, sold in 14 stores and online.
Led walk: A guided walk from one of our stores, free for Club members. We ran 3,100 in FY26.
Like-for-like (LFL) sales growth: The change in sales from stores that have traded for at least 52 weeks, plus online sales, at constant currency.
LTIP: The Long Term Incentive Plan, our share award plan for executive directors and senior managers.
Market-town store: One of our 110 stores (average 4,800 sq ft) in towns close to national parks and trails.
Net cash: Cash and cash equivalents less borrowings. It excludes lease liabilities.
Net promoter score (NPS): The percentage of surveyed customers who would recommend us, less the percentage who would not. Ours was 72 in FY26.
Own brands: Hale, our durable range, whose waterproofs and packs carry a lifetime repair promise, and Swift, our lightweight range for backpacking and faster trips. Together they made up 61% of sales in FY26.
Path Fund: The Swift & Hale Path Fund, which gives grants to footpath, access and outdoor education projects, funded by 1p from every Club purchase and a share of hire income.
PFAS: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, persistent chemicals once widely used in water-repellent finishes. Hale waterproofs have used a PFAS-free finish since Spring Summer 2025.
Real Living Wage: A voluntary hourly rate calculated independently each year from the cost of living, and higher than the statutory National Living Wage.
Repair bench: A workshop counter in store where trained colleagues repair kit. 41 stores had one at the end of FY26.
Revolving credit facility (RCF): A committed bank facility the group can draw and repay as needed. Ours is £40m, undrawn and committed to September 2028.
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions as defined by the GHG Protocol: direct emissions (Scope 1), emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2) and all other emissions in the value chain (Scope 3).
Sharesave: Our all-employee savings-related share option scheme.
Stock turn: The cost of inventories sold in the year divided by average inventory. It was 2.2 times in FY26.
TCFD: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, whose recommendations shape our climate reporting.
Total shareholder return (TSR): Share price growth over a period plus dividends, assumed to be reinvested.

Other information