Half-year Results

Vianet Group plc (AIM: VNET), an international provider of actionable data, business insights, and payment solutions through an integrated ecosystem of connected hardware devices, software platforms and smart insights portals, announces its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 September 2025 ("H1 2026"). The Company is pleased to announce that it is on track to deliver continued sustained growth, with confidence demonstrated by the interim dividend increase of 33%.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue resilience: £7.67m (H1 2025: £7.69m)
• High recurring revenue: £6.44m, representing 84% of total revenue, maintained from last year
• Gross margin improved: 68% (H1 2025: 67%), reflecting ongoing operational efficiency
• Adjusted EBITDA: £1.86m, up 20.6% (H1 2025: £1.55m)
• Adjusted operating profit: up 10.4% to £1.58m (H1 2025: £1.43m), before exceptional items and share-based payments, reinforcing robust underlying performance.
• PBT: £0.392m (H1 2025: £0.018m)
• Strong operational cash generation: £1.70m post working capital
• Net debt reduced: £0.5m (H1 2025: £1.0m) with cash increased to £2.60m (H1 2025: £2.25m) after £0.25m of share buybacks and an increased dividend payment of £0.29m (H1 2025: £0.22m)
• Refinanced HSBC facilities secured until April 2028 offer improved terms and support further investment
• Interim dividend increased: Up 33% to 0.4p per share (H1 2025: 0.3p)

James Dickson, Chairman & CEO, commented:

"I am pleased with the strong progress that we have made in the first half of FY26. This comes despite a challenging UK and global macro backdrop and more cautious investment behaviour ahead of the UK budget. Our growing pipeline, resilient recurring revenues and robust cash generation continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.

Both divisions have delivered solid year-on-year progress, and the business has remained focused on disciplined execution while managing the operational friction created by the 2G transition and elongated customer planning cycles. These factors have not altered the underlying business momentum, and our outlook remains positive and unchanged.

With our strategic investments in AI, analytics, energy-efficiency solutions and expansion in the USA and forecourts now translating into clear commercial momentum, the Group is increasingly well positioned for sustained long-term growth."

Sarah Bentham, CFO, commented:

"We have delivered a solid first-half performance supported by disciplined cost control and an improving margin profile while continuing to invest in our technology roadmap. The 1% improvement in gross margin and stronger cash generation reflect the financial benefits of our business model and the operational efficiencies implemented over the past year.

The early transition away from 2G has introduced some short-term operational friction; however, it has not altered the Group's financial trajectory, and our balance sheet remains strong. With increasing visibility from long-term, recurring, subscription revenues and a healthy pipeline supporting second-half activity, we remain confident in the financial outlook for H2 and beyond."

Chairman & CEO's Review

The Group has delivered a strong H1 performance with increased adjusted profit, improved cash generation, and continued strengthening of our underlying recurring revenue base. There have been headwinds created by a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and cautious investment behaviour ahead of the UK Autumn Budget; however, we are increasingly confident that the business is well positioned to benefit from here.

Recurring revenues accounted for 84% of turnover, highlighting the predictable and resilient nature of our long-term subscription model. Operational efficiencies delivered a 1% improvement in gross margin, while adjusted operating profit increased 10.4% year-on-year.

Across both divisions, customer engagement remains strong, and the volume and quality of commercial opportunities continue to improve. The Group is trading in line with Board expectations and has a robust pipeline which is expected to underpin further progress into H2.

Operational Review

Smart Machines (Unattended Retail)

The division delivered a resilient performance in the first half, despite temporary timing impacts from customer estate rationalisation and planning for national connectivity transitions.

H1 performance:

• Turnover: £2.97m down £0.27m reflecting lost revenue from the strategic withdrawal from the ERP provision to prioritise our device footprint extension to drive future recurring income
• Operating Profit: Adjusted operating profit was down £0.07m to £0.91m (H1 2025: £0.98m), as a direct result of our withdrawal from ERP provision.
• Customer Activity: 52 new contracts and five renewals were signed on three to five-year agreements, including new LRS clients such as Bannatyne, and Goals, adding to our healthy pipeline
• Devices Footprint: total deployed devices increased by c1,000 to 36,957, with higher recurring value cashless devices now standing at over 26,000, accounting for 71% of our device footprint (H1 2025: 67%)
• Cashless Expansion: 2,700 new cashless devices were deployed, of which 125 replaced existing 3G units. The net addition of 2,575 new devices will benefit H2 recurring revenue and operating profit
• Telemetry Optimisation: The telemetry only estate dropped by 960 to 10,863 devices as large free vend coffee operations were rationalised

Impact of 2G Network Restrictions

In recent months following on from the closure of 3G networks, the UK's phased withdrawal of 2G services-beginning with O2 restricting inbound roaming SIM access from October 2025-continues to affect operators running legacy IoT estates. Many unattended retail estates still contain ageing 2G-dependent devices, creating a clear operational and commercial risk for operators as network retirement progresses.

Whilst this has contributed to short-term delays and estate optimisation decisions during H1 this structural move from 2G/3G to 4G LTE represents a significant growth catalyst for Vianet, supported by:

• A proven and scalable 4G LTE upgrade pathway, already deployed at pace
• SmartVend device management platform, critical during technology transitions
• Strategic partnerships with Scobie Macintosh and Attenda
• Strong competitive wins, including conversion of competitor estates driven by commercial pilots delivering +18% revenue uplift and 15% lower transaction fees
• CPI's market exit, creating further market share gain opportunity

The Board expects network migration to remain a structural growth driver for the division through to 2027.

Smart Zones (Hospitality)

The Hospitality division delivered growth in revenue, operating profit and site installations, supported by renewed momentum across both the leased & tenanted and managed pub segments.

In Hospitality, the transition from 2G to 4G requires engineer visits across a significant number of pubs to upgrade devices. While this increased workload may impact the timing of some customer activity, the migration will materially improve estate reliability and connectivity resilience and is expected to support future growth through long-term contract extensions.

H1 highlights:

• Turnover: up 5.6% to £4.7m, reflecting strong activity across the estate
• Operating Profit: Adjusted UK operating profit rose 4% year on year to £2.29m
• Contract Activity: 6 new long-term contracts and 3 major renewals, including Star Pubs & Bars and Greene King
• New installations: up 58% YoY to 229 supported by the rollout of the new Beverage Metrics platform across Inglenook, Marstons, Red Oak, and Trust Inns, more than offsetting 210 pub disposals, taking UK estate up to 9,522 sites, with a further 40 sites for BBG
• Enersave: now installed in over 40 sites across three companies, with growing interest as operators continue to manage sustained energy cost pressures
• USA: momentum building, with losses reduced to £0.14m (H1 2025: £0.25m) as our new Beverage Metrics platform and recently signed partnership with Fintech accelerates commercial engagement

The BMI acquisition continues to materially strengthen Vianet's end-to-end beverage technology and management capability, creating significant opportunities with national hospitality chains in both the UK and the United States.

Dividend

Reflecting confidence in the Group's strong cash generation and continued earnings visibility, the Board announces an interim dividend of 0.4p, a 33% increase on the prior year.

Outlook

The Group entered the second half of FY 2026 with a strengthened financial position, robust recurring revenue base, and good commercial momentum. The Company is trading in line with achieving full-year expectations, despite cautious customer investment behaviour.

The Board is confident in delivering year-on-year growth and maintaining long-term strategic momentum, anticipating further progress in H2 supported by contract delivery, new installations, and strengthened liquidity providing the flexibility to invest in growth priorities. In particular:

• Sustained Demand: The retirement of UK 2G and 3G networks is expected to drive demand for upgrades and new multi-year contracts in unattended retail, payments, and remote asset management, leveraging Vianet's market-leading 4G LTE product suite
• Operational Growth: Expectations include continued H2 pipeline growth and conversion, positive progression of UK/USA hospitality opportunities, and further expansion of our telemetry and payment solutions in new verticals
• Financial Confidence: Improved banking facilities support future investment, underpinning the Board's confidence in long-term momentum

Investor Presentation

James Dickson, Chairman & CEO, and Sarah Bentham, CFO, will present the interim results via the Investor Meet Company platform today at 10:30am GMT.

Investors can register at: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/vianet-group-plc/register-investor

Reconciliation to the cash balance in the Consolidated Balance Sheet

Notes to the interim report

Statutory information

The interim financial statements are neither audited nor reviewed and do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2025 has been derived from the published statutory accounts. A copy of the full accounts for that period, on which the auditor issued an unmodified report that did not contain statements under 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006, has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

These interim financial statements will be posted to all shareholders and are available from the registered office at One Surtees Way, Surtees Business Park, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3HR or from our website at www.vianetplc.com/investors.

Accounting policies

The interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies and on a basis consistent with the accounting policies and methods of computation as published by the Group in its Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025, which is available on the Group's website.

The Group has chosen not to adopt IAS 34 'Interim Financial Statements' in preparing these interim financial statements and therefore the Interim financial information is not in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Having considered current trading performance and more flexible bank facilities following the facility renewals of June 2025, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Financial forecasts and projections, taking account of reasonable possible changes and sensitivities in future trading performance and the market value of the Group's assets, have been prepared and show that the Group is expected to be able to operate within the level of cash and existing banking facilities.

The Directors are confident that the Company will be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due over the next 12 months and beyond. As a result, this financial information has been prepared on a going concern basis.

Segmental information

An operating segment is a component of an entity that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses. The segment operating results are regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance. Vianet Group is analysed into to two trading segments (defined below) being Smart Zones (mainly adopted in the leisure sector, including USA (particularly in pubs and bars)) and Smart Machines (mainly adopted in the vending sector (particularly in unattended retail vending machines)) supported by Corporate/Technology & Stores costs.

The products/services offered by each operating segment are:

• Smart Zones (Hospitality): Data insight & actionable data services, design, product development, sale and rental of fluid monitoring equipment.
• Smart Machines (Unattended Retail): Data insight & actionable data services, design product development, sale and rental of machine monitoring and contactless payment equipment and services.
• Corporate/Technology: Centralised Group overheads along with technology and stores related costs for the Group

The inter-segment sales are immaterial. Segment results, assets and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis. Unallocated assets and liabilities comprise items such as cash and cash equivalents, certain intangible assets, taxation, and borrowings. Segment capital expenditure is the total cost incurred during the year to acquire segment assets that are expected to be used for more than one period.

Notes to the interim report (continued)

The segmental results for the six months ended 30 September 2025 are as follows:

Notes to the interim report (continued)

The segmental results for the six months ended 30 September 2024 are as follows:

Notes to the interim report (continued)

The segmental results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2025 are as follows:

Corporate activity and acquisition costs relate to corporate review costs. Corporate restructuring and transitional costs relate to the transition of people and management to ensure we have the succession and calibre of people on board to deliver the strategic aims and aspirations of the Group.

Tax

The charge for tax is as follows:

A tax charge provision has been made reflecting the full expected utilisation of the brought forward trading losses in Vianet Group plc and the likely movement in the deferred tax position.

The tax charge for March 2025 reflects the utilisation of brought forward trading losses, which had previously been recognised as a deferred tax asset, against the taxable profit for the period within Vianet Limited.

Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders (profit of £229k) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

Diluted earnings per share are calculated on the basis of profit for the period after tax (H1 2025: profit for the period) divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue in the year plus the weighted average number of shares which would be issued if all the options granted were exercised.

The table below shows the earnings per share result.

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO VIANET GROUP PLC

For H1 2026, we have chosen not to undertake an independent audit review which is an agreed standard approach.