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Johnson Service Group PLC on Friday said revenue remained broadly flat in the first half of 2026 and guided for improvement to come, as it continues to focus on cost management. Shares in the Cheshire, England-based textile rental business slumped 14% to 142.84 pence on Friday morning in London. Johnson Service expects revenue for the six months ended June 30 to be £258.0 million, unchanged from £257.5 million a year before. Workwear revenue is expected to have ticked up to £74.0 million from £72.1 million, whilst revenue in the Hotel/Restaurant/Catering, or Horeca, unit is estimated to have slipped to £184.0 million from £185.4 million. On an organic basis, group revenue softened by about 0.7% on-year, and Horeca revenue by 2.0%, which the company attributed to a challenged hospitality sector in the UK and Ireland. ‘We anticipate that normal seasonality will support improved volumes over the remaining summer months,’ Johnson Service noted. Workwear revenue rose 2.6% organically, thanks to price increases. Turning to profit margins, Johnson Service said these improved in the first year, thanks to cost control. Managing labour costs remains a priority, the company said, as does a disciplined approach to pricing for its customers. ‘Whilst this has resulted in market churn in certain instances, we continue to see customers choose, and return to, us in recognition of the strength and value of our service proposition,’ it said. ‘We are pleased with the expected margin progression in the first half of the year, which reflects our strong focus on operational cost management.’ With regards to energy costs, Johnson Service said its policy is to forward fix pricing on a rolling basis, enabling high visibility over energy costs through to 2027. For 2026, the company has hedged about 70% of its expected diesel fuel needs. For 2027, it has hedged about 20%. The company targets leverage of 1.0 times to 1.5 times in the medium to long-term. It estimated net debt at the end of June as £190.0 million, increased from £159.2 million a year earlier. It expects year-end debt to be similar to the half-year level. ‘Notwithstanding the challenges being experienced within hospitality, the board continues to expect to deliver another year of progress and margin improvement and, therefore, we remain on track towards achieving our targeted adjusted operating margin of at least 14.0% in 2026,’ Johnson Service concluded. It will publish interim results on September 8. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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