The owners of Lindal-based home fragrance manufacturer Wax Lyrical has issued a profit warning.

In a trading update, Portmeirion Group said it expected profits in 2019 to “be materially behind current market expectations”.

The designer, manufacturer and worldwide distributor of high-quality homeware products – whose brands include Portmeirion, Spode, Royal Worcester, Pimpernel, Nambé along with Cumbrian-based Wax Lyrical – said problems with key export market South Korea were behind the poor financial performance.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange the company said sales into the South Korea market – specifically for its Portmeirion Botanic Garden ranges – were weaker than expected.

Historic demand for the products, it added, had led other geographical markets to re-ship into South Korea, resulting in overstocking in this market.

The company said it had “invested considerable resource to address these issues” since May.

This included introducing new products into the market, which were already beginning to sell, and increasing due diligence of distributors to reduce the risk of re-shipping into South Korea.

“Whilst we are confident that the strategic investments outlined above will result in improved manufacturing efficiencies and sales growth in 2020, these will inevitably impact 2019,” Portmeirion Group said in the statement.

“As such, we now expect that the profit for 2019 will be materially behind current market expectations.”

It added: “With a strong balance sheet and expectation of ongoing healthy levels of cash generation in the business, there is no anticipated change to our dividend policy.”

Its chief executive, Mike Raybould, said: “The Group has a long and consistent track record of growth, leveraging our heritage portfolio of homeware brands around the world.

“We believe that the recent actions we have taken will be successful in protecting our brands and export markets in the long term.”

Wax Lyrical develops, manufactures and delivers luxury scented candles and reed diffusers from its Lindal factory and exports its products to more than 40 countries around the world.