Angling Direct PLC on Wednesday said it is confident it can achieve full-year results in line with expectations following solid revenue growth in the first half.

The Norwich, England-based fishing tackle and equipment retailer said revenue increased 5.6% to £45.8 million in the first half that ended July 31 from £43.3 million the previous year.

UK sales rose 6.2% to £43.5 million while European sales remained flat at £2.4 million.

UK Retail Store sales grew 8.4% to £26.4 million as UK Online sales increased 2.8% to £17.0 million.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Crowe said: ‘The progress made on expanding our UK footprint, alongside the roll out of our customer loyalty club, MyAD, and the associated growth of revenues in our existing UK stores and digital platforms, provides further confidence in achieving our medium-term UK revenue target of £100 million.

‘In the UK, we have leveraged our balance sheet strength to accelerate our new store roll out programme, with the opening of two new stores and the acquisition of three businesses, increasing our UK customer reach. In Europe, we are pleased to note the opening of our first store in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in May which continues to scale footfall and revenues.’

The digital European market ‘remains challenging’, leading the company to focus on its key markets in Germany and the Netherlands, placing emphasis on balancing operating loss reduction and building a sustainable European business.

Angling Direct believes it is on track to achieve market consensus for full-year revenue of £88.4 million, up 8.2% from £81.7 million reported in financial 2024.

Pre-IFRS 16 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation is expected to increase 17% to £3.2 million from £2.7 million.

Angling Direct shares were up 3.1% to 36.61 pence each in London on late Wednesday morning.

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