Warpaint London reported £40.5 million in revenue for the first half of 2026, a 17.8% year-over-year decline, as weaker consumer spending and cautious retailer ordering weighed on demand across its principal markets.
Despite the revenue decline, the cosmetics company improved its gross profit margin, maintained a debt-free balance sheet, and expanded its brand portfolio through the acquisition of Barry M.
For the six months ended June 30, 2026, revenue decreased from £49.3 million during the corresponding period of 2025.
Adjusted EBITDA declined 36.4% to £6.8 million, compared with £10.7 million a year earlier.
However, gross margin increased to 47.3% from 45%, representing an improvement of 230 basis points.
The latest gross margin included approximately 150 basis points of nonrecurring benefits associated with the sale of Barry M inventory acquired below its original cost.
Warpaint ended the first half with £20.7 million in cash and no debt, compared with £17 million at the end of December 2025.
The company’s performance reflected a difficult retail environment, with consumers facing pressure on discretionary spending and retailers maintaining cautious inventory purchasing strategies.
Warpaint’s largest brand, W7, generated £23.9 million in first-half revenue, compared with £29.8 million a year earlier, representing a decline of 19.8%.
Revenue from its Technic brands declined 16.3% to £8.7 million, compared with £10.4 million.
Revenue from the company’s BAR brands reached £4.4 million, down from £4.6 million in the previous year.
The newly acquired Barry M brand contributed £2.5 million in revenue during the first half.
Warpaint acquired Barry M’s brand, intellectual property, inventory, and order book out of administration on February 9, 2026, for £1.4 million in cash.
The transaction excluded Barry M’s manufacturing operations and liabilities.
Barry M products are distributed through more than 1,300 retail locations, primarily including Superdrug, Boots, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco, as well as retailers in Australia.
Warpaint intends to expand the brand while maintaining its existing W7 and Technic product portfolios.
The acquisition also strengthened Warpaint’s relationship with Superdrug, where the company supplies branded products alongside the retailer’s Studio London private-label range.
Warpaint reported further distribution progress across several major retailers during the first half.
Its W7 capsule collection launched in 2,200 Rossmann stores across Germany, with discussions underway regarding additional distribution.
In the United Kingdom, the company refreshed its product displays throughout Tesco’s existing estate and introduced impulse-purchase displays in an additional 220 stores.
Warpaint also expanded into another 200 Tesco Express locations and increased the number of stores carrying W7’s Halloween products.
Its Technic brand entered Tigotà stores in Italy, generating initial orders that included Christmas gift products.
In the United States, Warpaint secured increased Christmas gifting orders, including business with Walmart and an initial online order from Ulta Beauty.
Direct online sales increased 6% to £3.6 million, compared with £3.4 million in the previous year.
E-commerce accounted for approximately 8.9% of total revenue, up from 6.8%.
Warpaint expects its performance to improve during the second half of 2026 as larger retailer orders, additional product distribution, Christmas gifting demand, and Barry M contribute to revenue.
The company anticipates approximately £28.5 million in third-quarter revenue, representing growth of around 5% from £27.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 is expected to reach approximately £69 million, compared with £76 million a year earlier.
For the full fiscal year, management expects revenue toward the lower end of the current market forecast range of £103.3 million to £112.6 million.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to remain within the current analyst forecast range of £22.4 million to £24 million.
Warpaint also initiated a share repurchase program of up to £2.5 million on July 27, 2026, which it expected to complete before the end of September.
The company declared an interim dividend of 4.25 pence per share, compared with 4 pence in the previous year.
