Full Year Trading Update

Cohort, the independent technology Group, today provides a trading update for its financial year ended 30 April 2026.

Summary

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• Revenue of £303m and adjusted operating profit of c.£36m, both subject to audit, ahead of market expectations.
• Strong order intake of around £313m (2025: £284m), once again exceeding in-year revenue.
• Closing order book at a new record of c.£620m (30 April 2025: £615m).
• The order book underpins c.£253m of current market revenue expectations for the new financial year (30 April 2025: £230m) or c.80% cover.
• Closing net funds of £2.9m, (2025: £5.3m); new five-year bank facility of £175m in place.

FY26 year-end update

Cohort achieved 12% revenue growth and a net margin of 11.9% (2025: 10.2%). Both revenue and adjusted operating profit were ahead of market expectations.

The Group's Communications and Intelligence division saw growth in revenue to £159m (2025: £125.4m) and delivered a net margin of around 20% (2025: 16.8%). This result included a full year contribution from EM Solutions and was the driver of the Group's improved performance. The Sensors and Effectors division reported relatively flat revenue of £144m (2025: £147.1m) with a net margin of around 7% (2025: 8.6%). The lower net margin reflected continued prudent trading on ELAC's Italian sonar contract and the sale of SEA's high margin transport business in June 2025. All three businesses in the Sensors and Effectors division delivered positive trading profit in the year, but the low net margin remains below our mid-term target.

Cohort ended the year with net funds of around £2.9m, reflecting a strong cash performance in H2, a significant turnaround from the £32.5m net debt position at the H1 reporting point. This was slightly below our expectations due to some significant receipts slipping into the first quarter of 2026/27 financial year with over £6m being received in early May.

Order intake was c.10% higher than last year, with particularly good performances from EID, MASS and EM Solutions, within Communications and Intelligence, and at Chess and SEA in Sensors and Effectors. Total order intake again exceeded revenue for the year (2025: 1.1x) following a number of important wins during the year, including the award of a €42.3m contract to EID to deliver Integrated Communication Systems to the Portuguese Navy. As a result, the closing order book was around £620m, a record high, with on-order revenue extending out to the mid-2030's.

Notice of FY26 results

These are expected to be released on 15 July 2026.

Andrew Thomis, Chief Executive of Cohort, said:

"Cohort performed strongly in 2025/26, exceeding market expectations. Following another year of strong order intake, our closing order book has reached a new record level, and we have encouraging prospects for further orders.

"I'm particularly pleased with the strong maiden full year contribution from EM Solutions. The business has made good progress in capturing opportunities for growth and collaboration with other Cohort subsidiaries.

"Our strong balance sheet and liquidity provides a robust platform from which to continue to invest in the business while considering further targeted acquisitions.

"The high level of order cover provides confidence in a strong 2026/27 financial year."

Market expectations

The consensus market expectations for the full year ended 30 April 2026 were £34.7m of adjusted operating profit on £293.9m of revenue, and adjusted earnings per share of 58.9 pence.

Communications and Intelligence

Sensors and Effectors