The CEO of Filtronic said falling profits at the RF and microwave products manufacturer are the result of \u2018deliberate and targeted investment\u2019 as the business scales up to capture growing opportunities across defence, aerospace and space markets.<\/p>\n
The AIM-listed designer and manufacturer of RF and microwave products reported pre-tax profit of \u00a32.6m for the six months to 30 November 2025, down from \u00a36.7m a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA fell to \u00a35.1m from \u00a38.7m.<\/p>\n
Revenues were broadly flat at \u00a325.3m, slightly below the \u00a325.6m achieved in the same period last year, which benefited from peak deliveries on major space programmes.<\/p>\n
Filtronic shares slipped 2% to 179p in early trading.<\/p>\n
The company\u00a0 said the latest half reflected a more balanced delivery profile, alongside increased investment in people, facilities and product development to support future growth.<\/p>\n
Despite the drop in profitability, the group strengthened its cash position. Cash generated from operating activities rose to \u00a33.4m from \u00a32.1m, while net cash increased to \u00a36.8m including right-of-use leases, or \u00a38.2m excluding them. The board said strong cash generation has enabled it to self-fund major strategic initiatives while maintaining a solid balance sheet.<\/p>\n
The first half also saw significant momentum in new business wins. Filtronic secured its largest-ever contract, a $62.5m agreement with SpaceX, alongside a \u00a313.4m contract with a leading European defence prime and a \u20ac7.0m deal with a European space customer. These wins have taken the business into the second half of the financial year with a record order book.<\/p>\n
Around 90% of FY2026 revenues are now covered by contracted orders, providing strong visibility into the remainder of the year and beyond.<\/p>\n
Operationally, the company completed the self-funded relocation to a larger headquarters and manufacturing facility during the period, materially increasing production capacity. Investment also continued across its technology roadmap, including deployment of GaN E-band products and development of next-generation amplifier systems, with further launches planned in 2026.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Nat Edington said: \u201cThe first half of the year demonstrated the strength of Filtronic’s positioning in markets where performance, reliability and security are mission critical. Demand across our space, aerospace and defence markets remains robust, and our focus on high-frequency RF technologies continues to differentiate us with customers operating in the most demanding environments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a record order book, increasing customer diversification and the business now operating at greater scale, we have entered the second half confident of continuing our planned growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board said it remains confident of meeting full-year expectations for revenue and EBITDA, as the group looks to capitalise on a rapidly expanding defence and space pipeline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defence and space specialist’s sharp fall in first-half profits offset by strong cash generation and a surge in major contract wins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2139452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262,120781,50204],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2149729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-markets","category-technology","tag-featured-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n