Cerillion writes the billing and customer-management software that telecoms companies use to charge their customers, and it sells mostly to operators it already serves. It won its largest ever contract, worth about £42.5m from Oman's Omantel, in January 2026. But on 14 September 2026 it cut its full-year revenue guidance to £46m-£48m, below the £52.8m consensus, citing delayed customer orders, and the shares fell from about 1,700p in January to 706p in September.
Billing software that telcos cannot afford to get wrong
Cerillion supplies billing, charging and customer relationship management (CRM) software, mainly to telecoms operators. It has about 70 customer installations in about 45 countries. The head office is in London, with development teams in India and Bulgaria and sales staff in Europe, the USA, Singapore and Australia.
The business was once part of Logica plc. Management bought it out in 1999, led by CEO Louis Hall, and it joined AIM in March 2016. It earns money three ways: software licences plus support and managed services, implementation services, and resale of third-party hardware and hosting. Existing customers generate about 93% of revenue. Its pitch is a ready-made product that avoids the heavily customised systems common in the market. 1 Jun 2026 24 Nov 2025 19 May 2025
“Our 'out-of-the-box' product provides distinct advantages as it is a more cost effective and flexible solution compared to traditional bespoke solutions.” 19 May 2025
Two big new customers and record profits
Cerillion's growth in FY23 came from major implementations, large licence revenue and strong orders from existing customers. Revenue rose 20% to £39.2m and adjusted profit before tax rose 41% to £16.8m, well ahead of consensus. In November 2023 it signed Virgin Media Ireland for €12.4m, and in May 2024 a Southern African connectivity provider for $11.1m.
FY24 revenue reached £43.8m and adjusted profit before tax £19.8m, both records. The shares rose from about 1,270p in October 2023 to about 1,930p in August 2024. 16 Oct 2023 2 Nov 2023 13 May 2024 20 Nov 2023 18 Nov 2024
Lumpy timing and a CEO share sale
In FY25 the company said revenue would depend on when licence renewals landed. In H1, revenue fell 7% to £20.9m because renewals moved to the second half. Orders still reached a record £47.6m. They included a $11.4m contract with Ucom in Armenia, signed in January 2025, and £25.3m of agreements with an existing European customer that had bought a tier-1 mobile base. Full-year revenue was £45.4m with a record 50.9% adjusted EBITDA margin.
In June 2025 Louis Hall sold about 3.0m shares at 1,500p, raising £45.6m. He kept 20.1% and agreed not to sell more for 365 days. The shares were 1,870p at the end of May and 1,555p at the end of June. 19 May 2025 20 Jan 2025 8 Sep 2025 24 Nov 2025 11 Jun 2025 12 Jun 2025
Omantel: the biggest win, then a warning
In January 2026 Cerillion signed Omantel, Oman's main telecoms operator, for about £42.5m over five years. The previous record was about £25m. H1 FY26 orders doubled to £39.6m and the back-order book (contracted work not yet booked as revenue) hit a record £82.1m.
The accounts showed a different picture. H1 revenue fell 14% to £18.0m and the adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 34.5% from 47.7%, because almost no high-margin licence revenue was booked. Management said the second half would carry the year. On 14 September 2026 it warned that revenue would be £46m-£48m and the margin 43%-45%, against consensus of £52.8m and 45.2%. The card cites delayed customer orders. The shares closed September at 706p. 8 Jan 2026 1 Jun 2026 22 Apr 2026 14 Sep 2026
Results swing on when orders land
Cerillion books most licence revenue in full when a deal is signed or renewed, so the timing of orders moves profit sharply from half to half. The company flagged this in 2025 and again in 2026. Each time it said it was on track for consensus.
Management met or beat consensus in FY23, FY24 and FY25. The June 2026 outlook rested on projects under way plus new orders from existing customers, and the September warning came after those expectations were reaffirmed. Dividends rose every year, with the FY25 total up 17% to 15.4p. 1 Jun 2026 19 May 2025 24 Nov 2025 14 Sep 2026
“Delivery is based largely on business already under way and anticipated new orders from existing customers.” 1 Jun 2026
A founder-CEO, a new finance chief and changing holders
Louis Hall has led the business since the 1999 buyout. Alan Howarth is chairman. CFO Andrew Dickson stood down on 1 March 2026, and Greg Price joined as CFO and board member on 1 May 2026.
Among institutions, Octopus Investments raised its stake from 3.3% to 7.1% between March and September 2026. Gresham House trimmed its holding from 12.9% to 11.3% between February 2024 and September 2026. 28 Jan 2026 14 Apr 2026 12 Jun 2025
Strong cash, record orders, lower guidance
At 31 March 2026 the company had £32.5m net cash and no debt. The back-order book was £82.1m, and the new-customer pipeline was a record £271m. Omantel is in configuration and integration, and Ucom's cutover is due in autumn 2026. The interim dividend rose 15% to 5.5p.
Product work continues. Cerillion 26.1 added AI agents that coordinate tasks across systems, and Telesur has upgraded to it. The firm also earned Diamond-level TM Forum Open API certification, and Gartner named it in a 2026 Magic Quadrant. The shares were 680p at the end of October 2026. 1 Jun 2026 26 Mar 2026 28 Sep 2026 7 Oct 2026 14 Sep 2026
Guidance cut, Omantel revenue still to come
The latest guidance is FY26 revenue of £46m-£48m and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 43%-45%, given on 14 September 2026. Full-year results are due at the end of November 2026. The company has not said in the material available which orders slipped or when they are now expected.
Management expects material software licence revenue in the second half and Omantel to contribute significantly. It also expects to finish moving Virgin Media Ireland's fixed-line customers in 2026. The board aims to pay out between a third and a half of free cash flow as dividends each year, subject to performance. 14 Sep 2026 1 Jun 2026 22 Apr 2026 24 Nov 2025
Written by AI from Cerillion's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources