The Pebble Group, the publicly traded parent company of promo industry software provider Facilisgroup and global distributor Brand Addition (asi/202515), reported that its 2023 sales decreased 7% year over year, while after-tax-earnings were down 24%.

The declines were largely a result of Brand Addition revenue declining 9% on an annual basis to £106.3 million – itself a consequence of reduced spend from clients in the technology and consumer sectors, according to just-released financial figures.

“Technology sector client budgets were affected as they reduced their employee numbers and consumer sector clients spend has reduced in the last two years following a peak in 2021,” said Chris Lee, CEO of The Pebble Group and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “These clients all remain contracted with Brand Addition, are amongst the best-known brands in the world, and continue to deliver a repeatable revenue stream over the medium-term.”

The Pebble Group and Brand Addition are headquartered in the United Kingdom and report financials in British Pounds Sterling. Brand Addition’s £106.3 million in revenue roughly translates to about $135 million in total worldwide sales at today’s exchange rate.

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Facilisgroup, a Missouri-headquartered software-as-a-service company and partnering community for promotional products firms, increased revenue 8% in 2023 compared to 2022, with sales tallying £17.9 million. That equates to nearly $23 million at the current exchange rate.

Notably, the gross merchandise value (GMV) – essentially, business conducted by Facilisgroup partners through its platform – increased to $1.42 billion in 2023, according to the financial report.

The first six months of 2023 drove the (GMV) gain, rising 9%, while in the back half of the year GMV fell 5% compared to the same period in 2022 as demand for promo ebbed amid recession concerns and other factors. The Distributor Quarterly Sales Survey from ASI Research shows that fourth-quarter 2023 sales for distributors industry-wide were essentially flat year over year. Facilisgroup said its total number of partners rose from 225 at the end of 2022 to 242 at the end of 2023.

“Both Facilisgroup and Brand Addition retain attractive fundamental strengths, are differentiated in their respective markets and have clear strategic plans to grow in the very large global but fragmented promotional products industry.” Chris Lee, The Pebble Group

For 2023, The Pebble Group’s total revenue across Facilisgroup and Brand Addition was £124.2 million, a decrease of about 7%. In today’s USD terms, that’s approximately $158 million.

After-tax profit was £5.8 million (about $7.37 million), which came out to basic earnings per share of 3.46 pence. The lower sales volume, along with investments in new technology products and services, contributed to the 24% year-over-year decline in after-tax profit.

Looking ahead, Lee is optimistic for 2024. He said early-year business is in line with management’s expectations for growth.

“Both Facilisgroup and Brand Addition retain attractive fundamental strengths, are differentiated in their respective markets and have clear strategic plans to grow in the very large global but fragmented promotional products industry,” Lee said. “With a robust balance sheet that has enabled investment in new technology product initiatives and further development on its progressive dividend policy, (The Pebble Group) remains well-placed to return to growth in 2024, with exciting opportunities to scale further.”