Velocity Composites, based in Burnley, cuts and packs carbon-fibre materials into ready-to-use kits for aircraft makers such as Airbus, Boeing and GKN. Sales grew about 40% a year to £23m in FY24 on a new US contract, then fell back to £20.7m in FY25 as aircraft production rates stayed flat. Margins are much better, but first-half FY26 sales fell to £8.4m and the board cut its full-year profit guidance.
Kits that let plane makers outsource the cutting
Velocity supplies kits of composite material, cut and packed to order, so that manufacturers can free staff and floor space for their core work. Customers include Airbus, Boeing and GKN. The kits serve civil programmes such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 737 and 787, and defence work such as process material kits for the F35 and Typhoon under a three-year BAE Systems renewal agreed in May 2025.
The company runs its own planning software, Velocity Resource Planning, and says it is now fully in use at the Alabama site. It positions kits near customers through a 'forward stock location' model. It makes in the country where it sells, so US tariffs have not affected it. Its Fareham site has closed and work has moved to Burnley.
Demand depends on aircraft build rates. When customers raise rates, they run short of capacity and outsource more. When rates stall, they try to fill their own factories and pull work back in. 24 Jun 2026 27 Jan 2026 25 Jun 2025 12 May 2025 9 Feb 2026
A US factory built on a five-year contract
In December 2022 Velocity signed a five-year work package agreement with a global Tier 1 launch customer. The agreement was worth about US$20m a year, or US$100m in total. The company raised net £6.1m in August 2023 and built a facility in Alabama. Start-up costs pushed FY23 gross margin down to 18.8% from 23.0% and the adjusted EBITDA loss to £1.6m. EBITDA is profit before interest, tax and depreciation.
The US ramp-up depended on customers and the engine maker approving each programme block through First Article Inspection. In January 2024 the board cut FY24 revenue guidance from £30m-£36m to £27m-£30m. GE Aerospace approved the last of four programme blocks in March 2024. 23 Jan 2024 11 Mar 2024 9 Jul 2024
Growth arrives, but below plan
FY24 revenue rose 40% to £23.0m, US sales quadrupled to £7.9m, and adjusted EBITDA turned positive at £0.4m. This was below the £27m the company had called contracted in July 2024. In September 2024 it flagged delays to US engine kits and to A350 growth. The shares fell from 43.5p in July 2024 to 26p in October. 29 Jan 2025 18 Sep 2024 12 Dec 2024 9 Jul 2024
Flat build rates and a stuck US programme
FY25 revenue fell to £20.7m. A350 rates did not rise, and one UK customer began moving production to mainland Europe while another took legacy work in-house. The final US programme was held up by a technical issue between the US customer and the engine maker, which the company says was unrelated to Velocity. The board stripped forecast sales from the off-shoring customer's work from FY27 onwards.
Margins improved. Gross margin rose to 29.5% and adjusted EBITDA reached £1.0m, helped by overhead cuts and price increases. October 2025 brought a ten-year A350 extension with a Tier One customer, worth up to US$54m, with new kits due from early 2026. The shares ended October 2025 at 21.5p and fell to 16.2p by November. 27 Jan 2026 5 Nov 2025 8 Oct 2025 25 Jun 2025
“Our experience over the last 12 months while frustrating has been useful and will improve how we approach new business opportunities in the future.” 27 Jan 2026
Closing Fareham, waiting for the ramp
In November 2025 the company said overhead cuts would save about £0.6m a year in FY26. It then closed Fareham and consolidated into Burnley. The cost of closure widened the first-half loss before tax to £1.0m. Revenue was £8.4m, down from £10.4m, because of raw material supply problems, delayed programme transfers and customer order timing. The company says shipments are weighted to the second half. 5 Nov 2025 24 Jun 2026 26 May 2026
Margins improved faster than sales
The cost side responded. Gross margin went from 18.8% in FY23 to 29.5% in FY25, and administrative costs held near £7m while sales fell. The company also kept winning renewals with defence and A350 customers.
The revenue side depended on others. Customer approvals, aircraft production rates and customer decisions to move or in-house work all set the pace. Guidance proved too high repeatedly: FY24 revenue was cut in January 2024 and again below expectations in September 2024. The November 2025 update on FY25 was below market expectations, and FY26 guidance was cut in June 2026.
Management's long-held targets are 25% plus gross margin, 10% adjusted EBITDA margin and 25% return on capital. They were first set in January 2024 and repeated in January 2026. Gross margin has cleared its bar. FY25 adjusted EBITDA was about 5% of sales. 23 Jan 2024 27 Jan 2026 18 Sep 2024 5 Nov 2025 24 Jun 2026
A steady team, a new finance chief
Jon Bridges is chief executive and Andy Beaden chairman. Oliver Smalley joined as chief operations officer in February 2025. Finance chief Rob Smith, who joined in June 2024, will retire from the board by 31 October 2026 and stay as company secretary. Matthew Fowler becomes CFO on 1 September 2026.
Directors took share options in place of 20% of salary in the year to October 2026. A further 1.36m options at 12.56p were granted in March 2026. Emma Bridges, the CEO's wife, sold 333,333 shares at 15p in November 2025, and Jon Bridges kept 9.2%. Rathbones cut its stake from 7.2% to 5.0% in May 2026. 4 Feb 2025 23 Apr 2026 23 Jul 2026 25 Nov 2025 23 Mar 2026 27 Nov 2025 6 May 2026
Small profit, thin cash, shares near 13p
At 30 April 2026 the company had £0.7m of cash, net cash of £0.5m and an undrawn £3.0m invoice discounting facility, which advances cash against customer invoices. Adjusted EBITDA was £0.1m, the third half-year in a row of positive adjusted EBITDA.
Demand from UK legacy customers is stronger than planned because their in-sourcing is slower than planned. New work is arriving on the A350 and at the lead US customer. Final qualification on the key remaining US programme began in the third quarter of FY26. The shares were 13p at the end of June 2026, against 43.5p in July 2024. 24 Jun 2026 26 May 2026
A second-half recovery, with lower profit
The board expects FY26 revenue in line with earlier guidance, heavily weighted to the second half, as programme transfers complete. It now expects adjusted EBITDA of about £0.5m, below market expectations and below the improvement on FY25's £1.0m it had indicated in November 2025. Cash will be affected, but it expects a positive balance at year end.
The company cites rate increases on the A350, 737 and 787 after the Spirit AeroSystems sale to Airbus and Boeing in December 2025. It also cites US defence demand and talks with a second US customer. Transfer of the final US programme is due to finish as FY27 begins. The company sees limited short-term impact from the Iran conflict but is monitoring airline traffic and supply chains. 24 Jun 2026 26 May 2026 5 Nov 2025
“Due to the changes in product mix, however, we expect a reduced but still positive adjusted EBITDA for the year and positive cash balance at the year-end.” 24 Jun 2026
Written by AI from Velocity Composites's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources