Princes Group, the Liverpool-based international tuna, food and beverage giant, which joined the London Stock Exchange last October, said its first-half revenue increased 7% to £999.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2026, reflecting the contribution from recent acquisitions including Princes France S.A.S., Newlat GmbH and Plasmon.
Profit before tax rose 62% to £39.2 million.
Princes Group joined the main market of the London Stock Exchange in October at around £4.75 per ordinary share. Its shares have since fallen about 35% to £3.09, cutting its stock market value to roughly £755 million.
On May 19, shares of Princes Group fell as much as 13% after it announced that Simon Harrison was stepping down as chief executive officer from June 30, 2026, “to pursue a new opportunity.” Harrison worked at Princes for five years, including his last two years as CEO.
Princes Group, owned by Italian food firm Newlat, is best known for its Princes Tuna and Napolina brands, but also owns Crisp N Dry and licenses brands including Branston, Batchelors and Flora. It is the largest supplier of edible oils in the UK and sells nearly a billion cans of food a year.
The group employs almost 8,000 people.
Giuseppe Mastrolia, Interim CEO of Princes Group, said: “I am pleased with the performance delivered by Princes Group during the first half of the year.
“Against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and significant inflationary pressures across a number of our key input costs, we have demonstrated the resilience of our business model and, importantly, our ability to protect profitability through disciplined commercial management and continued focus on operational efficiency.
“Since taking on the role of Interim CEO in July 2026, I have been working closely with the leadership team to identify opportunities to further strengthen performance across the Group.
“Our focus is on faster execution, greater accountability and commercial ownership, alongside improving the efficiency of our manufacturing network and disciplined allocation of capital and resources. Our objective is clear: to translate Princes’ considerable capabilities into stronger growth, profitability and cash generation.
“At the same time, M&A remains a fundamental pillar of our growth strategy. Our strong balance sheet, extensive manufacturing footprint and proven ability to integrate businesses position Princes exceptionally well to participate in the consolidation of the European food and beverage sector.
“We continue to actively evaluate a strong pipeline of opportunities and will remain disciplined in our approach, while being prepared to move decisively where we see the right strategic and financial fit.
“We enter the second half with a clear plan and a strong sense of urgency. There is considerably more value to unlock across Princes and I am confident in our ability to deliver it.
“Our priority is not simply to set ambitious targets, but to achieve them – through disciplined execution, faster decision-making and an unwavering focus on delivering tangible results for our customers and shareholders.”