Eyewear specialist InSpecs delivered an unscheduled trading update on Monday and told us that its full-year performance will be below that of the 2023, despite some bright spots.

The company — which has the license for brands including Barbour, Joseph, Radley, Superdry, Temperley and Viktor&Rolf, among others — said there have been issues in Q4 so far.

It has seen year on year growth in the second half to date (its financial year coincides with the calendar year so is almost over) “signalling overall positive momentum”. But Q4’s improvement in sales has been “weaker than anticipated”. 

And due to the slower recovery in its European markets and the deferral of orders for some of the group’s larger customers into 2025, it now expects to report revenue for the year to 31 December of £197 million (£202 million on a constant currency exchange rate basis) and Underlying EBITDA in the range of £17.4 million-£17.9 million.

In the previous year, the company’s revenue rose by £2.3 million to £203.3 million and CEO Richard Peck noted that it was a record sales performance. EBITDA for 2023 was 16% ahead at £18 million.

Back in September, it had said that while “overall market conditions remain soft, H2 trading to date has exceeded the prior year, with the order book as at 31 August 2024 7% higher than 31 August 2023. The board is confident in meeting market expectations for the full year”.

It added that its new manufacturing facility in Vietnam has now been completed, “and we anticipate stepping up production to meet demand through 2025”.