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(Alliance News) - Cohort PLC on Wednesday swung to a profit in the first half, and remains "on track" to meet full-year market expectations.
The Reading, England-based advanced-technology parent company said pretax profit for the first half ended October 31 was GBP1.1 million, swinging form a loss of GBP1.7 million a year ago.
Revenue was up GBP77.5 million, up 29% from GBP60.0 million for the same period last year., while net debt had narrowed to GBP0.6 million from GBP6.1 million a year ago.
Cohort declared an interim dividend of 4.25 pence per share, up 10% from 3.85p per share a year ago.
Chair Nick Prest said: "The first half has seen a welcome return to growth by the group, with our order book underpinning most of the second half of this financial year. In line with previous experience we anticipate a stronger group performance in the second half and thus remain on track to achieve our expectations for the full year."
The company also reported a record order book of GBP304.2 million, up 4.9% from GBP290.0 million in April 2022, with GBP80 million of revenue deliverable in the second half. Order intake, however, was GBP88.6 million, down 16% from GBP105.3 million a year ago.
"Demand for our solutions and services continues to be driven by the UK's increased spending on defence and security and by international tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe," Prest said.
Cohort shares were up 7.7% trading at 441.58p per share on Wednesday morning in London.
By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter
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