Cohort plc (CHRT) — Company Research

Cohort plc (LSE: CHRT) is the parent company of seven independent, entrepreneurial defence-technology businesses — Chess, EID, ELAC SONAR, EM Solutions, MASS, MCL and SEA — supplying communications, intelligence, sensors and effector systems to navies, armed forces and government agencies in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Australia and international markets. The Group has been admitted to London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) since March 2006. For the year to 30 April 2025 it delivered record revenue of £270.0m, adjusted operating profit of £27.5m (a 10.2% adjusted operating margin) and free cash flow of £38.0m, with a record closing order book of £616.4m (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025; FCF per yfinance annual financials, pulled 2026-05-31). In its FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026) the Group reported unaudited revenue of approximately £303m and adjusted operating profit of approximately £36.0m, both ahead of market expectations, with the order book at a new record of £620m. The shares trade at 1,382p, within a 52-week range of 881p to 1,796p (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31). Audited FY2026 results are scheduled for 15 July 2026.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Name	Cohort plc
Ticker / Exchange	CHRT / London Stock Exchange (AIM)
Sector / Industry	Industrials / Aerospace & Defence (per yfinance)
Market cap	£633.0m (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
Enterprise value	£673.5m (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
FY2025 revenue	£270.0m (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025)
FY2025 operating profit (adjusted)	£27.5m adjusted (per the FY2025 Annual Report); statutory operating profit £27.8m (per yfinance annual financials)
FY2025 free cash flow	£38.0m (operating cash flow £51.2m less capex £13.2m, per yfinance annual financials)
Gross margin	33.5% (per yfinance, TTM)
Net margin	6.5% (per yfinance, TTM)
Employees	approximately 1,650 full-time (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
CEO	Andrew (Andy) Thomis, Chief Executive (per the company's Board of Directors page)
Headquarters	One Waterside Drive, Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading, RG7 4SW, UK
Website	https://www.cohortplc.com
Fiscal year-end	30 April
Next earnings	15 July 2026 — FY2026 audited final results
Dividend yield	1.22% (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
52-week high	1,796p (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
52-week low	881p (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
Short interest	not disclosed in this report's source data

2. Bull Case vs Bear Case

Bull Case

• Record order book provides multi-year revenue visibility. Per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026), the closing order book reached a record £620m (FY2025: £616.4m), with the on-order revenue horizon extending into the mid-2030s. The Group stated the order book underpins approximately £253m (around 80%) of FY2027 market-consensus revenue.

• Both headline metrics came in ahead of expectations in FY2026. Per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026), unaudited revenue rose approximately 12% to about £303m and adjusted operating profit rose to about £36.0m, an 11.9% adjusted margin, both described by the Group as ahead of market expectations.

• Communications & Intelligence is scaling and improving margin. Per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026), the Communications & Intelligence division grew revenue 27% to £159m with an operating margin of approximately 20% (FY2025: £125.4m at 16.8%), helped by a full-year contribution from EM Solutions.

• Long, unbroken dividend record. Per the FY2025 Annual Report (published August 2025), the dividend was increased 10% and has been raised in every year since the Group's IPO in 2006. Strong cash generation supported this, with operating cash conversion of 114% in FY2025.

• Strategic expansion into Australia via EM Solutions. Per the FY2025 Annual Report (published August 2025), Cohort completed the acquisition of Australian satellite-communications specialist EM Solutions for an enterprise value of £75m on 31 January 2025; in its first three months of ownership it contributed £6.7m of revenue and £1.9m of adjusted operating profit.

Bear Case

• Sensors & Effectors revenue and margin are under pressure. Per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026), Sensors & Effectors revenue declined approximately 1% to £144m (FY2025: £147.1m) at an operating margin of approximately 7.0%, materially below the Communications & Intelligence division's margin.

• First-half FY2026 profit and EPS fell year on year. Per the H1 FY2026 interim results (six months to 31 October 2025, announced 9 December 2025), adjusted operating profit slipped to £9.7m (H1 FY2025: £10.1m) and adjusted earnings per share fell to 16.16p (H1 FY2025: 20.00p), reflecting a higher weighted average share count after an equity placing.

• Net cash position has swung to net debt intra-year. Per the H1 FY2026 interim results (announced 9 December 2025), the Group moved from net funds of £5.3m at 30 April 2025 to net debt of £32.5m at 31 October 2025, driven by planned capital expenditure and a working-capital build; FY2026 year-end net funds recovered to £2.9m (per the FY2026 trading update, RNS, 27 May 2026).

• Customer and budget concentration in government defence. Per the FY2025 Annual Report (published August 2025), the Group depends heavily on government defence budgets and a small number of large customers (including the UK Ministry of Defence and allied navies); 53% of FY2025 revenue came from naval customers.

• Premium earnings multiple leaves little margin for error. Per yfinance (pulled 2026-05-31), the shares trade on a trailing P/E of approximately 34.6x, a level that assumes continued delivery against the order book and divisional margin recovery.

3. What Does Cohort Actually Do?

Cohort is a holding company that owns seven independent defence and security technology businesses and groups them into two reporting divisions. Segment revenue is shown below.

Division	FY2025 revenue	FY2026 revenue (unaudited)	YoY
Communications & Intelligence (MASS, MCL, EID, EM Solutions)	£125.4m	£159m	+27%
Sensors & Effectors (SEA, Chess, ELAC SONAR)	£147.1m	£144m	-1%
Group total (after consolidation)	£270.0m	approximately £303m	+12%

Source: FY2025 figures and FY2026 unaudited figures per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026); Group total FY2025 per the FY2025 Annual Report (published August 2025). Divisional revenue is reported before intra-group eliminations and so does not sum exactly to the Group total.

The Communications & Intelligence division supplies electronic warfare, digital services and training (MASS), advanced surveillance and electronic systems for UK government end users including the MoD (MCL), naval and military communications systems (EID, based in Portugal), and high-end satellite-communications terminals for navy and maritime customers (EM Solutions, based in Australia). The Sensors & Effectors division supplies technology-based products for defence and transport markets plus research and training (SEA), surveillance, fire-control and positioning systems (Chess), and sonar systems and underwater communications (ELAC SONAR, based in Germany). Across both divisions the common thread is mission-critical hardware and software for the maritime, land and intelligence domains, with naval customers accounting for 53% of FY2025 revenue (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025).

Geographic split: international revenue (sales outside the UK, Australia, Germany and Portugal) was £90.7m in FY2025 (FY2024: £74.4m), per the FY2025 Annual Report (published August 2025). A fuller country-by-country breakdown is not disclosed in this report's source data.

4. The Business Model

Cohort operates a decentralised, federated model: each of the seven subsidiaries retains its own management, brand and customer relationships, while the listed parent provides capital allocation, governance and acquisition firepower (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025). Revenue is predominantly project- and contract-based — design, manufacture, supply and through-life support of defence equipment — supplemented by long-duration service and support contracts that build recurring, visible revenue. The 15-year Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team support contract won by SEA from Thales UK (announced May 2025) is an example of the long-tail support work that lengthens the order book.

The Group's competitive moat rests on specialised, accredited defence technology, long qualification cycles, sovereign and security-cleared supply positions (UK, German, Portuguese and Australian national programmes), and high switching costs once equipment is embedded in a navy or army platform. Distribution is direct to governments, prime contractors (such as Thales and BAE Systems) and allied defence ministries. Unit economics differ by division: Communications & Intelligence earned an operating margin of approximately 20% in FY2026, while Sensors & Effectors earned approximately 7.0% (per the FY2026 trading update, RNS, 27 May 2026). Cash conversion has been strong, at 114% of profit in FY2025 (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025). Growth is delivered both organically and through bolt-on acquisitions funded by internal cash and debt facilities, including the new £175m five-year banking facility referenced in the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026).

5. Financial Health

Five-year trend (FY2022–FY2026; figures in £m unless stated). FY2022–FY2025 operating profit, net income and diluted EPS are statutory figures per yfinance annual financials; FY2026 is unaudited and only the figures disclosed in the trading update are shown.

Metric	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026 (unaudited)
Revenue	137.8	182.7	202.5	270.0	approximately 303
Operating profit	8.7	15.3	21.2	27.8	approximately 36.0 (adjusted)
Net income	9.2	11.4	15.3	19.2	not disclosed (audited results due 15 July 2026)
Diluted EPS (p)	22.42	27.86	37.72	44.25	not disclosed (audited results due 15 July 2026)
Free cash flow	17.5	11.1	16.4	38.0	not disclosed (audited results due 15 July 2026)

Source: FY2022–FY2025 per yfinance annual financials (pulled 2026-05-31); FY2026 revenue and adjusted operating profit per the FY2026 trading update (RNS, 27 May 2026).

Balance sheet (FY2022–FY2025; £m):

Metric	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025
Cash & equivalents	40.4	51.0	55.2	74.6
Total debt (incl. lease liabilities)	39.5	44.5	40.5	78.9
Total equity (incl. minority interest)	89.2	99.8	109.8	160.1
Ordinary shares in issue (m)	40.55	40.74	40.69	45.47
Share buybacks (£m)	2.9	0.6	1.9	4.0

Source: yfinance annual financials (pulled 2026-05-31). The Group reported net funds (cash less borrowings, excluding lease liabilities) of £5.3m at 30 April 2025 (per the FY2025 Annual Report, published August 2025).

Half-year trend (Cohort reports semi-annually; quarterly figures are not disclosed for AIM companies):

Period	Revenue	Adjusted operating profit	Adjusted diluted EPS (p)
H1 FY2025 (6m to 31 Oct 2024)	£118.2m	£10.1m	20.00
H1 FY2026 (6m to 31 Oct 2025)	£128.8m	£9.7m	16.16

Source: H1 FY2026 interim results (announced 9 December 2025). Directionally, Group revenue has grown strongly across the five years (more than doubling from FY2022 to FY2026), driven by both organic growth and acquisitions, while first-half FY2026 profit dipped year on year and the Group carried net debt at the half-year stage before returning to a small net-funds position by 30 April 2026.

6. Valuation & Market Data

Raw market data only — no commentary on cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31)
Share price	1,382p
Previous close	not disclosed in this report's source data
Day range	not disclosed in this report's source data
52-week high / low	1,796p / 881p
Market cap	£633.0m
Enterprise value	£673.5m
Shares outstanding	45.8m
Float	31.0m
Average daily volume (10d)	234,135 shares
Volume (date)	not disclosed in this report's source data
Beta	0.31
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	34.6x
Forward P/E	20.6x
P/S (TTM)	2.26x
P/B	3.81x
EV/Revenue	2.4x
EV/EBITDA	20.3x
P/FCF	not disclosed in this report's source data
Gross margin (TTM)	33.5%
Operating margin (TTM, GAAP)	5.8%
Net margin (TTM)	6.5%
ROE	13.5%
ROA	4.4%
Debt-to-equity	57.0%
Current ratio	1.36x
Dividend yield	1.22%
Short interest	not disclosed in this report's source data
Put/call ratio	not disclosed in this report's source data

7. What Are They Building / What's Coming

Cohort's forward pipeline is anchored by its record £620m order book and a run of recently announced contract wins across the Group (per the FY2026 trading update, RNS, 27 May 2026, and company announcements). Per company announcements, Portuguese subsidiary EID secured a €42.3m contract in March 2026 to supply Integrated Communication Systems and Networks to the Portuguese Navy's new fleet, with deliveries scheduled through 2029; UK subsidiary MCL announced contract wins totalling £17.9m in January 2026, including a £14.0m UK government order for uncrewed air systems plus two years of in-service support, and a £3.9m order for tactical audio systems; and SEA won a 15-year Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team support contract from Thales UK (announced May 2025) covering maintenance and inspection of the Royal Navy's towed-array handling equipment.

Strategically, the Group is investing in capacity, including a new ELAC SONAR facility in Germany that drove much of the first-half FY2026 capital expenditure (per the H1 FY2026 interim results, announced 9 December 2025), and continues to pursue bolt-on acquisitions following the EM Solutions deal, supported by the new £175m five-year banking facility (per the FY2026 trading update, RNS, 27 May 2026). Management has guided that increased deliveries are expected to drive profit growth, and the order book underpins approximately 80% of FY2027 consensus revenue (per the FY2026 trading update, RNS, 27 May 2026). No internal management revenue or profit forecasts beyond these disclosures are included in this report's source data.

8. Competitive Landscape

Cohort competes with larger UK and European defence contractors as both a rival and, frequently, a sub-system supplier to them. Peer market data (per yfinance, pulled 2026-05-31):

Company	Ticker	Market cap	Revenue	Gross margin	P/S
Cohort plc	CHRT	£633.0m	£270.0m	33.5%	2.26x
Chemring Group	CHG	£1.49bn	£497.5m	67.0%	2.99x
QinetiQ Group	QQ	£2.60bn	£1.92bn	16.3%	1.35x
Avon Technologies	AVON	$510.7m	$326.0m	42.5%	1.57x
Babcock International	BAB	£5.36bn	£4.96bn	8.6%	1.08x
BAE Systems	BA	£59.4bn	£28.3bn	13.2%	2.10x
Rheinmetall	RHM	€60.2bn	€10.07bn	53.5%	5.98x

Footnote on currency: market cap, revenue and ratios for Avon Technologies are reported in US dollars and for Rheinmetall in euros; the remaining companies are reported in pounds sterling. Figures are not FX-converted and are therefore not directly comparable across currencies.

Cohort is among the smaller listed UK defence players by revenue and market capitalisation, positioned below QinetiQ, Babcock and BAE Systems but operating in specialised maritime, sonar, communications and electronic-warfare niches where it supplies both end customers and primes. Its FY2025 gross margin of 33.5% sits above the larger systems integrators (Babcock, BAE Systems, QinetiQ) but below specialist peers such as Chemring. No view is offered here on relative winners or losers.

9. Leadership and Ownership

Andrew (Andy) Thomis is Chief Executive of Cohort, a role he assumed after succeeding co-founder Stanley Carter; he was a director at flotation and previously Managing Director of subsidiary MASS (per the company's Board of Directors page). Simon Walther is Finance Director, and Nick Prest CBE chairs the Board (per the company's Board of Directors page). Detailed individual executive tenures and remuneration are set out in the FY2025 Annual Report and are not fully reproduced in this report's source data.

Ownership is characterised by a high level of insider and founder holding alongside UK institutional investors. Per yfinance (pulled 2026-05-31), insiders hold approximately 24.5% and institutions approximately 47.8% across 88 institutional holders. Per public shareholding disclosures (pulled 2026-05-31), co-founder Stanley Carter remains the largest individual shareholder with approximately 19.45%, and shares not in public hands stood at 27.30% as at 30 June 2025.

Holder	Approx. stake	Source
Stanley Carter (co-founder)	19.45%	public shareholding disclosures (pulled 2026-05-31)
Directors & insiders (aggregate)	24.5%	yfinance (pulled 2026-05-31)
Schroders plc	4.98% (as at July 2025)	TR-1 major-holding disclosure
Institutions (aggregate, 88 holders)	47.8%	yfinance (pulled 2026-05-31)

Other named significant managers in the shareholder register include Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, Liontrust Investment Partners, Rathbones Investment Management, Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management and Herald Investment Management (per public shareholding disclosures, pulled 2026-05-31). A full top-ten institutional register with precise percentages is not disclosed in this report's source data. Recent insider transactions are not disclosed in this report's source data.

10. Risks and Challenges

• Dependence on government defence budgets (Market & Demand): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), the Group's revenue is heavily dependent on UK, German, Portuguese, Australian and allied government defence spending, which is subject to political priorities, fiscal pressure and programme timing.
• Customer concentration (Concentration): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), a significant proportion of revenue comes from a small number of large customers, including the UK Ministry of Defence and allied navies, with 53% of FY2025 revenue from naval customers; loss or delay of a major programme would have a material impact.
• Contract execution and fixed-price delivery (Operational): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), many contracts are fixed-price and technically complex, exposing the Group to cost-overrun, delivery and performance risk, a factor in the Sensors & Effectors margin pressure seen in FY2025 and FY2026.
• Acquisition integration (Operational): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), the Group's growth strategy relies on acquisitions such as EM Solutions, which carry integration, cultural and financial-control risks.
• Skilled-people availability (Operational): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), the business depends on attracting and retaining security-cleared engineers and specialists in a competitive labour market.
• Export controls and regulation (Regulatory): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), international sales are subject to export-licensing, ITAR-style controls and sanctions regimes, the breach of which could result in penalties or loss of licences.
• Information and cyber security (Cyber & Physical): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), the Group handles classified and sensitive information, making cyber-attack and data compromise a material operational and reputational risk.
• Foreign-exchange exposure (Financial): Per the FY2025 Annual Report (Principal Risks, published August 2025), with subsidiaries in Germany, Portugal and Australia and significant export revenue, the Group is exposed to currency movements that it manages through forward contracts.

11. Recent Developments

Most recent first.

• 27 May 2026 — FY2026 full-year trading update, ahead of expectations: Cohort reported unaudited revenue of approximately £303m (+12%) and adjusted operating profit of approximately £36.0m (11.9% margin) for the year to 30 April 2026, both ahead of market expectations, with a record order book of £620m, order intake of £313m, year-end net funds of £2.9m and a new £175m five-year banking facility. Source: Cohort plc RNS (Investegate / Equity Development).

12. Key Dates Coming Up

• 15 July 2026: FY2026 audited final results announcement (year to 30 April 2026). Source: Equity Development note, May 2026.
• Approximately September 2026: Annual General Meeting (FY2026). Date not yet confirmed in this report's source data; the FY2025 AGM was held on 25 September 2025.
• Approximately August–October 2026: FY2026 final dividend ex-dividend and payment dates. Not yet confirmed in this report's source data; for FY2025 the final dividend was paid on 3 October 2025.

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