Dr Martens H1 update shows progress, American recovery but EMEA weakness

Dr Martens’ six-month results for the FY26 period to late September on Thursday showed the execution of its new strategy on track with full-price DTC revenue rising 6%.

But there were still some negative figures with overall revenue on a reported basis dipping by 0.8% to £322 million. Yet it would have risen by 0.8% at constant currency rates (CCY) so overall, it’s a reasonably good figure.

And the company said adjusted EBIT was £3.1 million (or £3.4 million CCY), up from a loss on the same basis of £3 million a year earlier.

Adjusted profit before tax was actually a loss of £9.4 million (or £9.2 million CCY), which again, was better than the deficit of £16.6 million in H1 of FY25.

Unadjusted profit before tax was a loss of £11 million (£12.3 million CCY), also narrower than the year ago loss of £28.7 million.

The company’s net debt figure including leases also narrowed from £348.7 million a year ago to £302.3 million this time.

Given that some previous periods had seen more dramatic shifts in the wrong direction, the company is clearly making progress. And CEO Ije Nwokorie said of the latest period: “Our brand is strong… While it’s still early days, we are happy with the advances we’re making and are seeing green shoots. This strategic progress, as well as the benefits from the cost action plan delivered last year and our continued focus on cost management, is delivering a meaningful improvement in our financial performance.

“While the marketplace remains uncertain and consumers are cautious, and our biggest trading weeks are ahead, we are confident in our plans for the year.”

So what else did we learn? Its goal is to increase full-price sales and reduce clearance activity, and in H1 it delivered the aforementioned full-price D2C revenue up 6%, with the full-price D2C mix improving by 5pts.

In Product, it’s focused on driving more purchase occasions and achieved a 33% increase in shoe volumes in H1. It reinforced its “comfort credentials” with its new Zebzag Laceless boot, and recently launched the fully waterproof 1460 Rain boot, which gives it access to a new footwear segment.

It’s also delivered new and expanded distribution partnerships for Latin America, Italy, UAE and the Philippines and deepened partnerships with its largest wholesale customers globally.

And it’s making progress in simplifying its ways of working with its Customer Data Platform, Supply and Demand Planning system and Global Technology Centre “all increasing our efficiency and effectiveness in how we work”.

American recovery

Regionally, the Americas was the best-performing region with revenue up 6% CCY and both DTC and Wholesale in positive growth. That’s particularly good news given how problematic the region has been in recent years.

But EMEA revenue declined 3% CCY “with a continued subdued DTC performance against a promotional backdrop”. 

APAC revenue grew 2% CCY with particular strength in South Korea and steady performance in Japan.

And it added that while the trading backdrop across its markets remains volatile, “we are focused on executing our plans, growing profit and taking the right decisions for FY27 and beyond. Since the end of the first half, our Americas business has continued to deliver positive full price DTC growth. Our EMEA business continues to see variable trading and a particularly challenging performance in Retail across our largest markets. Our APAC business continues to trade well”.

The SS26 wholesale order books are “healthier year-on-year with the Americas order book showing good progression indicating a positive shift in confidence among key accounts and the EMEA order book showing an encouraging breadth of product, particularly in shoes”.

Its focus in managing the increased US tariffs has been on “ensuring that we mitigate their impact on our business for FY27 and beyond. This aim has driven both the actions we have taken and the timing of those actions. We expect to fully mitigate the impact of increased tariffs for FY27 and beyond through continued tight cost control, flexible product sourcing, and targeted adjustments to our USA pricing policy”.

As for the rest of FY26, it’s trading in line with its expectations and, as of 17 November, “the sell-side Adjusted PBT consensus range was £53 million to £60 million”. These figures didn’t include any impact from tariffs, but it remains “comfortable in achieving this range on that basis. We can now give guidance on the impact of tariffs on FY26, and they represent a high single-digit [million pound] headwind. Given the timing of our mitigation actions, we expect to offset roughly half of this impact”.

It anticipates a currency impact of around a £10 million headwind to group revenue and a benefit to Adjusted PBT of around £2 million.