Johnson Service ups interim dividend; annual operating margin on track

Johnson Service Group PLC on Tuesday said its full-year operating margin remains on track despite challenging market conditions, as it posted a higher interim profit.

The Cheshire, England-based workwear provider said pretax profit in the first half of 2026 rose 4.5% to £20.8 million from £19.9 million, while revenue edged up 0.2% to £258.0 million from £257.5 million, despite declining 0.7% on an organic basis.

Regarding Johnsons Hotel, Restaurant & Catering, the company said while sales activity remained broadly stable, "the effect of significantly increased business costs has particularly impacted on some of the independent hotel and restaurant customers that we typically serve. As a consequence, this has resulted in price increase and renewal negotiations having become more challenging, resulting in weaker demand and increased market churn."

The firm upped its dividend by 13% to 1.8p per share from 1.6p.

"Macroeconomic headwinds continue to influence competitive dynamics across the group's end market," the company said.

Johnson Service explained that there was a slower start to the year in the hotel, restaurant, cafe and catering market, or Horeca.

It added: "The seasonal uplift in Horeca over the summer months was more modest than originally anticipated and we expect that softer trading will persist throughout the remainder of the year. However, productivity improvements and our strong focus on operational cost management continue to help mitigate the impact of lower volumes in Horeca."

Despite "ongoing market challenges", it still expects to achieve its adjusted operating margin target of "at least 14.0%" in 2026.

In the first half, the margin expanded to 11.6% from 11.1% a year prior. In 2025 as a whole, it was 13.5%.

Johnson Service shares fell 9.1% to 130.60 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

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