Petards Group reports higher adjusted EBITDA as rail and defence demand supports H1

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Petards Group H1 EBITDA growth

Highlights

Petards Group's adjusted EBITDA rises to £781,000 in H1 from £509,000, while revenue dips to £7.7 million from £7.9 million year-on-year.
Gross profit margin improves to 52.2% from 48.7% and net debt falls to £1.155 million from £1.339 million at year-end 2025.
Order book grows to £9.6 million at 30 June 2026 from £9.2 million at 31 December 2025, driven by rail and defence demand.

First-half performance and outlook

As reported by London Stock Exchange's Regulatory News Service, Petards Group says adjusted EBITDA profit rises to £781,000 in the first half from £509,000 a year earlier, while revenue slips to £7.7 million from £7.9 million.

Gross profit margins improve to 52.2% from 48.7%, and the group moves to an operating profit of £14,000 from an operating loss of £185,000 in H1 2025. Diluted loss per share narrows to 0.15p from 0.51p, and cash generated from operating activities increases to £894,000 from £860,000.

Chairman Raschid Abdullah says the upward trend in trading performance continues into 2026, particularly in rail and defence, where order intake is improving versus recent years. He says the stronger order flow is driving greater operational efficiencies and margin gains, while further rail orders announced in August add to the group's order book.

Order book growth and balance sheet impact

Petards says improved trading conditions for rail and defence continue into 2026, while QRO trading rebounds from a weaker second half of 2025. The company also cites a strong contribution from recurring revenues across all group operations.

The order book stands at £9.6 million at 30 June 2026, up from £9.2 million at 31 December 2025. Net debt falls to £1.155 million from £1.339 million at the end of 2025, reflecting what the company describes as a cash-generative operating performance.

The board says it expects the group to continue generating cash in the second half and to reduce net debt further by year end. It also remains confident the business will perform well over the rest of the year and deliver another significant improvement in results over 2025.

In our earlier article on the UK economy’s July GDP acceleration, we noted that output rose 0.4% month-on-month, beating expectations and reinforcing a picture of comparatively resilient growth going into 2026. We also highlighted the Bank of England’s 2026 growth projection and the risk that higher oil prices could push inflation up later in the year, shaping the broader backdrop for UK-listed companies’ trading and demand trends.

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