Zotefoams plc ($ZTF)

Earnings Call Transcript · May 27, 2026

LSE GB Materials Chemicals Shareholder/Analyst Calls 44 min

Highlights from the call

In the first four months of 2026, Zotefoams plc reported a robust revenue increase of 26% to GBP 64.1 million, driven by solid organic growth and the acquisition of OK Company. The company maintained its full-year guidance, indicating confidence in its ongoing strategic initiatives despite anticipated moderation in footwear demand. Earnings performance was not explicitly detailed, but management expressed satisfaction with the integration of OK Company and the progress in various strategic areas, including AI and international expansion.

Main topics

  • Revenue Growth: Zotefoams achieved a 26% increase in revenue to GBP 64.1 million, reflecting contributions from the OK Company acquisition and strong organic growth in EMEA and North America. Management noted, "the business is performing ahead of our plans after the first 4 months, which is really good to see."
  • OK Company Integration: The integration of OK Company is progressing well, with management reporting that it is performing slightly ahead of expectations. The cultural alignment and customer-centric approach are being emphasized, which is seen as beneficial for future growth.
  • Investment in Asia: Zotefoams is making significant investments in Asia, with the construction of a manufacturing facility in Vietnam underway. The company is optimistic about achieving test production by the end of 2026, which is crucial for future growth in the region.
  • AI Implementation: Management highlighted substantial progress in AI initiatives, stating that they have integrated "roughly 2 million articles and artifacts" into their protected AI system. This investment is expected to enhance innovation and operational efficiency.
  • Margin Management: Despite challenges from rising raw material and energy costs, Zotefoams has maintained margins through proactive pricing strategies. Management stated, "we've responded proactively to the challenges in the Middle East crisis," indicating a strong focus on profitability.

Key metrics mentioned

  • Revenue: GBP 64.1 million (up 26% YoY, reflecting contributions from OKC and organic growth)
  • EMEA Revenue: GBP 50.1 million (up 24% YoY, with GBP 9.8 million from OKC)
  • North America Revenue: GBP 12.1 million (up 30% YoY, benefiting from increased capacity and demand)
  • Asia Revenue: GBP 1.9 million (almost doubled YoY, indicating growth potential in the region)
  • Operating Margin: 15% (targeting 20% PBT margins by the end of the 5-year strategy period)
  • AI Investment: GBP 2 million (invested in AI system integration to enhance innovation and productivity)

Zotefoams plc is demonstrating strong growth and strategic execution, particularly through its acquisition of OK Company and investments in Asia and AI. The company is well-positioned to navigate current market challenges, but analysts will be watching for the sustainability of growth in footwear and the impact of rising costs on margins. Future catalysts include the successful ramp-up of the Vietnam facility and further integration of AI capabilities.

Earnings Call Speaker Segments

Operator

Operator
#1

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Zotefoams plc investor presentation. [Operator Instructions] Before we begin, I'd like to submit the following poll. I'd now like to hand you over to Ronan Cox, CEO. Good afternoon, sir.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#2

Thank you very much, and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Zotefoams Group year-to-date trading update. I'm joined this afternoon by my colleague, Nick Wright, the Group CFO. So let's get into the presentation. Usual disclaimers, you're all used to these. Okay. So introduction. I just want to come back to some -- to a slide that I've shared quite a few times now over the last 2 years that I've been in position at Zotefoams, and this is the strategy reminder. So nothing has changed in our strategy. So that's the really good news. And I think that the highlights that we're going to touch on today are really going to dig into where we've made really significant progress against the real strategic imperatives of the business. So from that move from industry to customer focus, the development work that we're doing around getting closer to customer in the likes of Vietnam, innovation, investment to acquisitions and indeed to driving productivity and becoming a higher-performing team. So our strategy remains unchanged. And everything that we do and everything that we talk about within the business. And indeed, as we present to you today, I believe you will be able to attach everything back to this strategy. And therefore, as we come to look at 2026 and we pause for this trading update, the real highlights in the business are, number one, I would say, the growth that we've seen beyond consumer and lifestyle. So in our trading update, you will have read about the moderation in footwear, which is exactly what we expected to see as a business. What was imperative for us as a business and over the last year is that we prepare for moderation and therefore, drive organic growth in -- particularly in EMEA, but also in North America. And I've been very, very pleased with what we have seen in that regard in both of those regions. So that's a real highlight. We transacted and acquired OK Company at the end of 2025, and I've been delighted with the integration work and the successes that we are having in joining up our businesses in the first 4 months of the year. So another really strong highlight. The investment case is absolutely paying off, and we're already seeing some real synergies between the organizations and some really strong cross-selling opportunities, not just opportunities, but wins that have helped us actually with organic sales growth as well in the legacy Zotefoams business. So really good progress there. Our investment in Asia, which we announced last year is really taking hold. We've taken possession of the keys of both our innovation center in South Korea. I was there a number of weeks ago with our large footwear customer who had visited it. So that's making great progress. We've now got 7 people, the majority of whom have come from the footwear industry that are now working in that innovation center. So that's really exciting to see that come on track. And then in Vietnam, we've properly broken ground, and we're actually started to receive some of the larger pieces of kit to come into that facility, and that's happened in the last few weeks. And we're still confident that we're going to be ready to actually have first test production by the end of 2026. Also in the first 4 months, we've launched our global approved partner program. And this really is about looking at those 7 key industries and the key partners in those industries that we believe are going to help us grow fastest and in the most profitable way. And we've -- that partner program has now been properly introduced, multiregional, multi-industry, and we've got really good partners already signed up into that, and that's really helping us as we continue to drive growth in the organic business. And then finally is our investment in AI. And I know there's a lot of hype around AI and maybe a lot of hot air around it. But I would say that we, as a business, have made tremendous impact or have tremendous progress, I would say, in the last 4 months with a pretty modest investment to connect the business. And I'll touch on that point a little bit later as we delve into a bit more detail. But before we do that and go in more detail in some of the strategic highlights, I'm going to pass over to Nick Wright, our Group CFO, who's going to talk to us about business performance. So over to you, Nick.

Nicholas Wright

Executives
#3

Thank you, Ronan, and good afternoon, everyone. If we turn to the next slide and go through the results in the first 4 months of the year. We are pleased with group revenue up 26% to GBP 64.1 million, which reflects the initial contribution from OKC but also solid organic growth in other markets. Looking at by region, EMEA, up 24% to GBP 50.1 million. This is where we see the GBP 9.8 million contribution from OKC, slightly ahead of our expectations for that business. Also within EMEA is where the moderation that we anticipated from footwear has been largely offset by growth in other markets, largely transport and other -- transport and smart technologies. When we move through to North America, up strongly 30% to GBP 12.1 million. This really reflects the benefit of the additional capacity that came on stream in the end of Q4 2025, robust demand in consumer life cycle transport and smart technologies, but also reflecting the fact that in the similar period last year, we had lower demand in our industrial business. And then last but not least, Asia, where the revenue in the first 4 months of the year had almost doubled up to GBP 1.9 million, a small part of our business at the moment, but also is clearly, as Ronan highlighted earlier, will be really important for the business going forward as our investments in Vietnam spring towards the end of the year and as we transition the footwear business from the U.K. over the course of 2027, 2028 into that region. Really important, though, to see that the non-footwear businesses in EMEA and North America are stepping up and filling the moderation that was anticipated before. Outside of that, we're seeing good performance in terms of margins. We've responded proactively to the challenges in the Middle East crisis and therefore, have increased prices where necessary to cover the cost of raw materials, to cover the cost of increased transport costs and cover the cost of increased energy, and that's maintained margins and our focus on working capital has meant that we are in a good position and remain with a strong balance sheet, which will support our investments over the remainder of the year. So on the next slide, a reminder of the results from FY '25. I'm not proposing to go through this in any detail as we covered this extensively at the year-end. But it really just highlights that 2026 is we're building on a strong foundation and continuing the progress that we saw in 2025 into the first half of 2026.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#4

Perfect. Thank you, Nick. And so coming back to strategic progress, really the main purpose of today is just to give you all an update and a bit more detail on those few items that I touched on earlier. So starting with the Global Approved Partner Programme. This has been quite some time in the making actually, and it's extremely important part of our strategy, as we say, getting closer to our customers, bringing those partners that we believe have got the greatest capabilities in the industries that they serve to bring them closer to Zotefoams to help us in areas of innovation, but also taking innovation and taking our existing products and ensuring that we've got the deepest and best penetration in the markets that we see as having the greatest long-term growth opportunity. So I think the Technifab, the team that you see pictured here, an amazing business based in North America. They do a lot of work in the aviation sector. They work with some of our most technical products, and they do some really amazing stuff with those products in terms of the design, the thermoforming, the manipulation, the work that they do with our products. It creates some incredible components that are used in this fantastic industry. And these are just sort of epitomize the way that we want to operate with key partners in key industries. They understand our product through and through. They can help us enhance our products and they can help look and identify industries, other industry opportunities and clear adjacencies. So it's been really great to get this program off the ground. We have partners that are now, I think, in all of our 7 key industries, and we plan to actually add more and more over the coming months and years. This is all about bringing structure and deep technical expertise. And I'll touch on AI later. We've got such an incredible knowledge base within this business. And now we're being able to actually organize it in such an incredible way with things like AI that genuinely with partners like Technifab and others that are in this program, we believe that our approach to application engineering and market penetration, it is second to none. So it's a phenomenal initiative. Our partners that we sign up to this are highly motivated and incredible business is well invested, and we think this is certainly a key component for the ongoing organic growth story of the business. The next point I just wanted to touch on is our strategic progress in Asia. So a really big investment for us. The manufacturing facility in Vietnam, as I mentioned, the construction is underway. We had a really impressive groundbreaking ceremony a couple of months ago. As I mentioned at the beginning, we're starting to receive some large pieces of kit. If you look at this slide, the rendering in the bottom right-hand corner is our facility. So that's the facility that we're preparing at the moment. The rendering in the bottom left is an actual picture of our innovation center in South Korea. As I mentioned again at the beginning, I was there a couple of weeks ago, and we hosted Nike for the first time in that innovation center. What was, for me, just fantastic is our ability to hire fantastic talent into that. So the facility itself is amazing, but the talent that we're able to attract there coming from that footwear industry is incredibly impressive. And what's more is that the location is within a driving distance of the headquarters of the Tier 1 suppliers into Nike. So our ability to collaborate close to our customer is just phenomenal here. And put together, that local footprint in Asia for footwear manufacturing, combined with innovation and proximity to all of that sort of development in that footwear ecosystem is really going to, I genuinely believe, continue to spur the growth of this company. So an incredible foundations that have been laid in those first 4 months of this year super exciting, and I'll be excited to get further updates as we progress to initial trials at the end of this year out of the Vietnamese facility. So great progress there, great team. As I said, we've recruited talented people in Korea. We're also starting to form a really good team in the Vietnam facility as well. So amazing progress. The next initiative that I want to touch on, again, I mentioned it before, is the investment in AI. And I want to be really clear about it when we talk about investment in AI. We've had a few look at a few different approaches to AI, certainly since I've been in the business over the last 2 years. At the beginning of the year, we've just hired a relatively young, super talented AI expert to come into the business and actually help us navigate around AI, the opportunities that we have in the business with this. And actually, what we've done in the first 4 months is plumb in roughly 2 million articles and artifacts and data files into our protected AI system within Zotefoams. On top of that, we've been able to pull in over 6 million academic papers. And then on top of that, we've been able to take a whole bunch of other external data, market data, et cetera, that has helped us validate not only market opportunities, but then to use AI to help us with recipe predictions. And then we have another arm to this, which then helps our salespeople and our application engineers with actually bringing those solutions and help them land within the industries that we're targeting here. And we've done all of this in a very controlled way. So this is -- all of our AI is done within our environment, very safe. We've created what we call a black wall protection around this to make sure that we are completely secure and compliant. We don't have any free AI tools anywhere in the organization. All of that has been locked out of our business. This is one closed protected system where we're putting all of that corporate memory, feeding it into it, and that is feeding back to the business and allowing us to accelerate, as I say, in areas of innovation, but also we're seeing some real productivity improvements just automating basic transactions, building simple agents that take away a few minutes of every day. And these things are adding up and stacking up across the organization. I have to say I am incredibly excited in what we've been able to do in the last 4 months. And that -- what we've done in the last 4 months is probably 100x greater than what I managed to achieve in the previous 20 months. So it's -- I'm really excited for the potential of AI within Zotefoams. As you see here on the right, we've got Zotelabs. We did a trial for some people yesterday actually and gave them a demo of this. And I think they were blown away at what we'd achieved here. So AI will have an amazing impact on this business. in innovation and speeding up innovation and helping our customer-facing folks engage with our clients and how best to use our products, but it's also helping us become a lot more efficient internally in our day-to-day actions as a business. So really great progress there and a key highlight for the first 4 months of the year. And I think the next update we're going to talk about is OK Company, but I'm going to let Nick talk to that.

Nicholas Wright

Executives
#5

Yes. Thank you. So just as a reminder, OKC, our first significant acquisition acquired in November last year, which was entirely in line with our strategy. It brought some fantastic customers 2 good facilities and some complementary products to Zotefoams, earnings accretive and sensibly priced, and we are really pleased with how the integration is progressing well. We said we were going to do the integration properly. We started with the commercial teams. They are working well together, and we're already seeing that come through with additional opportunities for the business. The deal rationale wasn't dependent on synergistic sales, but it's really pleasing to see new opportunities coming through. The business is performing ahead of our plans after the first 4 months, which is really good to see. It's been really encouraging to see how the 2 teams are coming together and working and the cultural alignment is coming together. We've had the Board exec team visit. But we're learning from them. They're learning from us. We highlighted that this is a business that's got the heart of the customer, really customer-centric approach, and that's feeding into Zotefoams as well. We are -- we've completed the initial integration of the finance sort of processes in terms of being able to obtain information, and we're focusing now into the more detailed data IT integrations. The initial brand refresh is underway and OKC is positioning itself as a Zotefoams company. So overall, as a first acquisition, it's really demonstrated that this business can and has done a good job of making acquisitions and bringing them into the business, and we're really pleased with how this first one has gone. And we are using this. We're capturing the learnings and this provide a blueprint for future integrations.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#6

Perfect. Thank you, Nick. And I think let's start with just go quickly to outlook. So we've had a really solid start to the year. As we have said in our trading update, we -- our full year expectations remain unchanged. Demand has been pretty robust. The -- and indeed, the moderation that we had expected in footwear has happened. And we've been really pleased that we've been able to take demand from other industries to offset the moderation. So very much as expected, and that has been very pleasing. As Nick touched on the OK Company contribution, the business is performing, I would say, on or slightly ahead of the original investment case, and that's brilliant. It's the nonfinancial stuff that's really great, which is the cultural integration, the spirit of customer centricity, that attention to service, which I think is really helping us as an organization as well. And there are various learnings and passings of knowledge from one business to the other. That's great. But the fact that the commercial integration has happened so quickly is tremendous and the successes there are really, really encouraging. I touched on that Global Approved Partner Program. We will be adding more partners by the end of H1. This is an ongoing process. We believe that there's a lot of opportunities for partners in our target industries to come in and work closer with us. And the more we can give them the tools and the products and the innovations and the excitement, the more people we see coming in that want to come into this program. So it's a fantastic program for our partners. Obviously, the Middle East continues to create uncertainty, particularly around things like raw material pricing and energy costs. The first few months of the year have seen us mobilize ourselves in a way that I've been really pleased with and impressed with the way that we've been able to get our finger on the pulse, understand the impacts on the business and make sure that we are able to pull the relevant levers that would ensure that we protect the ongoing profitability of the business. So the business has responded really well there. At this point, we haven't seen any particular headwinds in terms of demand. But of course, one never knows what the secondary impact of a prolonged issue there could be. But so far, in the stuff we control, we've controlled it really, really well. And I think all of that sets us up with confidence in our medium-term growth strategy. And nothing is saying to us that we're anything other than continuing on the course that we set and that we're confident to continue on that course that it's the right course, it's yielding benefits. We can already see a lot of the strategic levers that we've been pulling to actually come through and deliver meaningful results that give us the confidence that, that long-term strategy or that medium- to long-term growth strategy is entirely achievable. So with that, I'm going to hold the presentation, and I am going to go to the Q&A.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#7

Perfect. Okay. So we may as well jump straight in. And I'm just going to go from top to bottom. So I think it's first in, first answered. Okay. So the first question is what is the actual range of equipment being installed in Vietnam? We're installing all equipment required to go from polymer to a 3D part. So everything from injection molding through to gasing high-pressure vessels and then low-pressure vessels is what we're installing in Vietnam. So it's a fully integrated manufacturing facility. Are we benefiting from the increased military spending in Europe and the U.S.? I would say that we are seeing some benefit, but I would see it as a bigger opportunity for us. Somewhat ironically, we're probably stronger when it comes to the U.S. than it is to European or U.K. military spending. It's one of our target industries. It's clearly something where there should be some tailwinds. And it's an area where we're looking to continue to drive commercial focus. And so we're seeing a bit, but we'd like to see more, okay. Why is T-FIT not as successful in the U.S.A. and Europe, whereas it seems to be doing well in China and India. It's more -- I think this is more a case of the projects. We've got -- first of all, we've got a bigger team in China and in India. The projects tend to be bigger there. It's a case of where is the greatest opportunity for growth, and they're probably sitting with more builds having went on in China and India. But we've got a decent business in Europe, and we've -- the T-FIT business in the U.S. is not doing bad either. We are -- I would say the T-FIT business itself is performing much better this year than it has done in the last few years. We've brought new leadership in. So it's got a new General Manager. We've got someone else who's helping us lead all of the logistics and coordinate our service across the different territories. So I think market opportunities are biggest and quickest in China and India at the moment, but that is not to say that we're deprioritizing the U.S. and Europe. I think there's still plenty of opportunities there. Nick, I'm going to get through a few questions for you, don't worry, but I like these ones. Okay. So adidas, I knew this one was going to come. Adidas seem to have a better running shoe than Nike as evidently by their London Marathon wins. What was the foam they use? And -- well, I suppose the athlete came into it. So the guy that was wearing the shoes is something to do at the time. But listen, I think they've got very good roster of athletes, and that's not -- let's not underplay the importance of them. I think that it is not lost on us, adidas' recent successes. We are very confident that we can offer a foam that is better than on those shoes. And we are engaging with our footwear partners to see how we could actually ensure that, that gets on to elite athletes shoes. So listen, these things -- these come in cycles. I think that Nike as our partner are not going to take this laying down. I'd say watch this space. I'm pretty sure that Nike will have new running systems in place that will be out there on winning gold medals in the near future. But there's nothing like a good competition out there to keep us innovating and advancing. So if everything just stood still in '26, it wouldn't be good. So you know what, we're up for it, Nike is up for it, and it's important that we keep innovating. Right. How are you improving your sustainability as a business? Well, there are various aspects to improving your sustainability. We talk about our lengthy supply chain from the U.K. to Vietnam. So that localization in itself is a dramatic improvement in sustainability. So we're not shipping product around the world. So when we have that facility closer to customer, that will very much help our carbon footprint. Our product, I would remind anyone that doesn't know our products so well, but our product, we do not use any chemical going agents in the vast majority of our manufactured products. And where we do in some of the products, for example, from -- OK Company, then there's a high level of -- very high level of recycled content. So we're very focused on productivity, reducing the electricity consumption, trying to shorten the length of supply chains of products coming to us and our materials going to our customers. And we're very much leaning into recycled content as a business. Okay. All right. Ronan, 2 years on from becoming CEO, honestly, are you ahead in line or behind where you thought the group would be? I think it's a combination of stuff. I think that we've made really tremendous progress in certain areas. I think the strategic direction and alignment has been fantastic. There are other areas always, I think, operationally and execution-wise, where I wish that we were further ahead. So I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I'm very happy with where we are, but I'm never that happy because that's just the nature of me. So I think that where I thought the group would be, I think that we're making really good progress. But I'm just super demanding. I'd always like us to be further ahead than we really are. This is definitely one for you, Nick, I think. Okay. AI is driving gigantic CapEx commitments into areas like data centers, power systems, et center. Are there opportunities for Zotefoams to have its products designated? Okay. Equally, the likely hype around SpaceX IPO will shine spotlight on the aerospace sector. Again, does Zotefoams have potential exposure there? I'll tell you go to the latter part of that, the SpaceX one maybe.

Nicholas Wright

Executives
#8

So we do have opportunities in the aerospace and SpaceX sector. We've already got our products on a number of applications there. And I think as that sector continues to grow, that will create opportunities for our products where it has those unique properties that are just aligned with that kind of demanding application where you need super lightweight insulation, thermal properties that our product has. So our property really does help in those applications, and there's lots of opportunity there, and it's an area of focus. And as we bring in those industry specialists that know those markets well, we're seeing more opportunities open up for us.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#9

Very good. Given the speed of progress, there's a question here. It's really about grants from innovation funds in the U.K. the European Union, U.S. or Asia. Do you want to talk about R&D tax credits in the U.K. perhaps?

Nicholas Wright

Executives
#10

Yes. So yes, I mean, we do take advantage of the opportunities to get tax credits for our R&D spend and where we have patents, we look to utilize those in the most effective way. I think there's always possibility of looking for government support, but government support normally comes with strings attached. So it's not something that at the moment that we feel that we're actively exploring. But if there are specific opportunities that we think would be too much of a risk for us as a business and potentially government would want to share some of that risk, then we would look at it. But at the moment, our focus is really on investing in our core business in the areas that we understand where we see that our investment will deliver appropriate returns for our shareholders, and that's really where we're focusing our capital allocation.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#11

Okay. Very good. Oil shock impact on inputs. Do you want to mention that? We haven't touched on it, but...

Nicholas Wright

Executives
#12

I'll touch on that. So we've responded to that. Our aim is to recover the increased costs. We're currently applying surcharges to where appropriate to make sure that we recover those costs. And our customers understand the need for us to do it. They don't like price increases, but they understand why it would be necessary for us to do that. And at the moment, our customers are more concerned about security of supply than the short-term surcharges. As Ronan said, if the situation continues long term, then that may have impact on demand. But at the moment, the real focus is from our customers is making sure that they have the product that they need.

Ronan Cox

Executives
#13

Okay. Very good. From Richard, can you give an update on the pipeline of acquisitions? So we have got -- what I would say is that we've got a healthy pipeline of acquisitions today. I've been -- I think that many of you that were at our Capital Markets Day will have heard from our Corporate Development Director, who's doing a tremendous job in filling that pipeline. At the moment in time, I think that we've got quite a number of very interesting opportunities that we've got a line of sight of. So we can't go into any more detail than that, but I think that what we would say is that there's a healthy pipeline there, and that certainly didn't exist just over a year ago. So we're in a good place. We're very focused. We've got our Corporate Development Director, who is 100% focused on this. This is all he does day in, day out. And I have to say, he's exceptional at identifying the opportunities, but then starting the engagements and those conversations and looking at the details of the opportunities. So it's a muscle that we started to build just 1.5 years ago, and I think that it's developing really well. As you push for new partners, are you displacing others or are you allowing for their innovation? I'm not quite sure that I understand the question, but we will -- we have got scope to partner with many, many, many businesses. What we want are like-minded businesses that are driven by value creation and growth. There's -- our material, I genuinely believe can reach way beyond its traditional applications. And for those partners that understand their industries and then understand the physical attributes of the materials that we make and that can bring that together, I think there's many opportunities to innovate and to grow partners together. So we're not having to -- I don't necessarily like displacing anyone. It's about really who do we lean into closest for those partners that we can really share those same philosophy around growth and co-innovation. So there's a lot of room. It's not that we're pushing people out. It's just that where we focus our efforts where we see the greatest runway for growth. Okay. Here's a good one. Out of curiosity, I have seen novelty items that expand into dinosaurs or whatever. Is that how some of your Zotefoams does work? I've got no idea. I think that Zotefoams as a business, we're just going to expand. Whether we can expand our products into dinosaurs, I don't think so, but there you go. What room for growth should we expect in margins? They seem to be stuck around 15%. Okay. So as a medium-term objective, so out to the end of our sort of 5-year strategy period, we're targeting to get to PBT margins of around 20%, okay? But we're also incredibly open about the -- as we see that transfer of quite a lot of business from our U.K. facility out to Asia, as we move stuff around and get it manufactured closer to where the customers are, whether that's in Asia or the U.S. or in Mainland Europe, that margins will move around a bit. But longer term, our objective for the business, as I say, in our strategy period is to get our PBT up to 20%. Okay. 3 years ago, this was U.K. business with U.S. and Polish manufacturing. Now it's -- okay. So 3 years ago, this was a U.K. business with U.S. and Polish manufacturing. Now it's a global business with Asia. How are you managing the risk that comes with going global? Plenty of companies have come to grief often because management was overstressed. That's very key point and it's not lost on us. I think, first of all, if we look at our Asian investment, so the investment in Korea and in Vietnam. In Vietnam, we've entered into a partnership with a business that has been in Vietnam, so a South Korean business that's been in Vietnam for over 30 years. We are hiring people with regional and industry expertise, so they know the country and the industry that we're operating in. We're not trying to do this expansion in that part of the world with -- by remote control from London, absolutely not, yes. So we're hiring knowledgeable talent from the industries that know the country to drive this for us. I think the other thing -- and actually, you can say on the other side, in other instances, so if we look at our U.S. business, Actually, we've taken one of our most talented U.K. leaders, and he's over there now in the U.S. And actually, he's driving a lot of the real improvements that we're seeing there. So yes, we are becoming more international. We're becoming more global. I think that the leadership team that I have assembled now are all experienced in operating in global businesses. I myself have lived in various countries, have set up businesses earlier in my career in different parts of the world. We're all experiencing the sort of risks that come along with this. As we look at the governance models in the business, we're really upgrading them. And actually, this year, we've had our -- looking at all of the risk sort of management profiles across the business. And we're ensuring that they are -- where they were probably much more U.K.-centric in the past that they're globally fit. So great point. It's -- that's part of the business that we have to keep ourselves effectively managed and run and governed as we expand. It's one of our principal risks and one that we don't take lightly. Okay. I think we've got a final question from Gavin. How is the new U.S. pressure system performing the utilization so far? I almost touched on that. It's going really well. As we've now got one of our U.K. leaders who is now across in the U.S. He had been actually very active in the commissioning -- well, on a sort of fly-in, fly-out basis. I'm so delighted he's now based in the U.S., and he's making sure that, that asset is up and sing. So really, really, really, really good progress there. So it's fantastic. Okay. When will you need a third pressure vessel in the U.S. when we get to over $100 million of sales in the U.S., all right? So where we've got a good bit of growth to go until we get there. And I think that if we ever do come back to that, maybe in a different format, but I think we'll all be quite happy because it will have meant that, that U.S. business will have doubled in size. We've got a lot of growth opportunities there without having to invest a truckload more money into the U.S. or putting in another low pressure vessel. But there we go. I think that we've managed to do all of the questions.

Operator

Operator
#14

That's great. Thank you for answering all those questions you can from investors. And of course, the company can review all questions submitted today, and we'll publish those responses on the Investor Meet Company platform. Just before redirecting investors to provide you with their feedback, which is particularly important to the company, Ronan, can I please ask you for a few closing comments?

Ronan Cox

Executives
#15

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining this afternoon. Thank you for staying tuned for the update. As we said, momentum really started in 2025. That momentum has continued in 2026. Yes, there are challenges out there, but we, as a management team, remain confident that we will be able to face into those challenges. And as we say, guidance remains unchanged for the rest of the year. So we're making great progress on many fronts, not just the financial fronts, but also on the quality of business front. So we're excited for the future, and I thank you all, all shareholders of the business. We appreciate your interest in the business, and thank you for your time today.

Operator

Operator
#16

That's great. Thank you for updating investors today. Can I please ask investors not to close the session as you'll now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback in order that the management team can better understand your views and expectations. This may take a few moments to complete, and I'm sure will be greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team, we'd like to thank you for attending today's presentation, and good afternoon to you all.

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