Cohort’s shares rally after soaring defence demand spikes profit
Defence tech group Cohort shot past market expectations for the year ending April 30 as geopolitical tensions helped spike demand.
The London-listed firm, whose customers included the UK Ministry of Defence, recorded a pre-tax profit of £25.6m, up 29 per cent from 2024.
This came as revenue jumped 33 per cent to £270m as the firm reached a record closing order book of £616.4m.
Shares in Cohort jumped near eight per cent as markets opened to 1,653.94p.
Nick Prest, Cohort’s chairman, said the current order book “stretched out into the mid-2030s” providing the firm “good visibility for the coming years”.
Prest said a “shifting landscape of global security” led to mid-tier defence and tech companies such as Cohort “playing an important role in creating and delivering advanced defence solutions at speed”.
“Our businesses supply products and services that enhance the security of the UK’s allies across the globe. In the UK, our capabilities support the UK Government’s commitment to investing in a defence architecture that will make Britain safer and stronger,” he added.
Trump effect spikes defence spend
The London Stock Exchange’s defence stocks have benefited from the surging demand in the last year following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and conflict in the Middle East as well as Ukraine.
Trump pushed NATO members to drastically up their defence spending, which has led to the UK pledging to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on national security from April 2027.
The boss of FTSE 100 defence giant Babcock hailed a “new era of defence” earlier this year after its role in the UK’s nuclear submarine program helped revenue climb 11 per cent.
Cohort upped its dividend per share ten per cent to 16.30p in its full-year results, continuing the trend of the dividend increasing every year since the company’s IPO in 2006.
The firm’s basic earnings per share rose 19 per cent to 45.07p.
Prest said: “We are optimistic that the Group will continue to advance in the coming 2025/26 year as demand for our products and services continue to grow, and accordingly our adjusted earnings per share is now likely to be ahead of our previous expectations. Overall our longer term prospects remain strong.”