Yet again the financials aren’t looking so hot, but there are bright spots — just don’t expect more deep discounts.
Updated October 22, 2025 10:09AM
Velo was given an early look at Rapha‘s 2024 finances before they were publicly shared this week, and the picture isn’t rosy.
Despite that, the apparel brand promises change is on the way, and there are some glimmers of hope in the numbers that seem to support the promise.
We took a closer look at the financial picture.
What the 2024 financials actually say
Rapha was looking to get ahead of the dialog by releasing its financials. It makes sense why; those numbers in parentheses are negatives.
For those unfamiliar with all the terms in that chart, here’s a quick rundown.
Total turnover is what is sometimes referred to as gross revenue or simply how much product the company sold. In this case it’s lower year over year.
EBITDA is a way to easily display the performance of a business. It stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. Think of it as the money-making power of the company’s core operations, ignoring things like how much debt it has (interest), where it’s located (taxes), or how old its assets/equipment are (depreciation); in cycling terms it’s sort of like how you might think of normalized power in your own numbers. Rapha moved from a small profit last year to a loss this year.
There are some bright spots here though. Both operating losses and net profit loss have shrunk from last year. There’s also growth in new customers to the brand’s website, with money spent by customers also growing.
(Photo Emily Maye for Rapha)
Rapha calls this the beginning
Rapha says it’s in a turnaround that’s only just getting started. “We are only one-year into a multi-year turnaround, with new leadership and a new business and marketing strategy…” said CEO Fran Millar.
Of course you expect that the CEO will say that but there’s another piece. Rapha is writing down the value of the company. When Rapha was acquired in 2017 there was an investment into the business. Last year the investment value was £169m but it has been impaired (downgraded) by £102m. In other words the business is worth £102m less.
The company states that a significant part of the “operating loss and net profit include the amortization of goodwill and intangibles from the 2017 purchase of Rapha Racing” and goes on to say “this amounts to annual charges of more than £10m.” In other words £10m of what the company is reporting as a loss is merely numbers on a page and we should expect this to “continue to be amortized in line with accounting policy in years to come.”
Of course you can do the math yourself and realize that even removing £10m from the numbers wouldn’t make the company profitable. Rapha claims that another piece of the puzzle is that “a contraction in total revenue was anticipated due to reduced discounting activity and increased mix of full price sales. This reduction was planned in line with our multi-year transformation plan.” In other words, say goodbye to waiting for the annual Rapha sales.
Rapha Boss Promises Change
Explaining away financial numbers and write-downs with a promise of turnaround only works if things change. The top line quote from Rapha CEO Fran Millar is “Transformation takes time, and we aren’t expecting to see immediate results but the strategic decisions we are taking, including the ones we are announcing today, will enable us to become profitable again as a business and support our vision to use the transformative power of cycling to make a difference to the world.” We also discussed what that actually meant.
During that discussion, Millar expressed understanding that Rapha has to be at the top of the game in style and technology if there’s going to be a successful move away from discounting. Millar was also clear that she understood that the brand had fallen behind in the inherent promise of quality that Rapha once represented.
When asked why it’s taken so long to correct a strategy that was obviously a problem, Milar was again quite frank. The history, according to Millar, is that after the 2017 sale of the brand the initial transition wasn’t smooth. The shift from a founder-CEO to something new is often a time of upheaval for a company and that happened here. Then a pandemic hit. The organization has been working to clear stock and save costs but now it’s time to move forward.
When pushed on the subject, Millar doubled down on the idea that “quality is key at every level.” She claimed that there will be a reinvestment of resources and a renewed focus on “samples, prototypes, and quality control right at the factory.”
(Photo Emily Maye for Rapha)
Sponsorships are also changing
It’s already been made public that Rapha is no longer sponsoring EF Pro Cycling. Our own team talked about how that collaboration made pro cycling kit cool again but so far, the why hasn’t been a part of the discussion. Rapha is likely saving some money dropping the partnership, but after hearing Millar talk that wasn’t the driving force.
“In WorldTour racing the apparel is no longer the difference or the place to validate performance,” Millar said. She went on to talk about about how most people are unaware of who makes a particular kit for teams and there’s little opportunity to stand out through innovation. Millar claimed that there is another place where that’s still true though: the track.
To that end, Rapha is going to be supporting USA cycling. The specifics aren’t detailed but Brendan Quirk, CEO and president of USA Cycling has high hopes for the partnership. “We are entering a Golden Age for American cycling and Rapha can be a catalyst for that,” Quirk said. “USA Cycling has a laser focus on delivering 10 cycling medals at the LA28 Summer Olympic Games. That record-breaking performance would be transformative for the sport in America and Rapha will be at the center of that effort. From aerodynamics to thermal regulation, we are relentlessly pursuing every potential advantage for Team USA.”
Millar also stated that “Para technology is going to be a big part of the story.”
That leaves one last big question from the end of the EF-Rapha partnership: What happens with Lachlan Morton? Rapha’s response:“Lachlan is under contract with EF for one more year. That’s all we’re saying.”