Webcast

On 04 June 2024 we announced our interim results

Click here to listen to the live audio webcast taking place at 9am.

In addition, we have released a half year results round-up video which can be viewed here.

Press Release

Interim results for the six months to 30 April 2024

Results Presentation

Interim results for the six months to 30 April 2024 presentation

Annual Report

Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Interim Results 2024

Key highlights

  • Record H1 order intake of £345m and order book of £1,041m, the highest in Chemring’s history, providing excellent medium-term revenue coverage
  • H1 2024 was in line with the Board’s expectations:
    • Revenue growth of 8%, driven by strong performance at Roke, up 19%, and growth in our specialist energetic materials businesses offset by a weaker period for Countermeasures 
    • Underlying operating profit margin of 11.2% (H1 2023: 12.7%) primarily reflecting the impact of operational challenges at our Tennessee Countermeasures business in the period 
    • Improved cash conversion of 83% (H1 2023: 64%) as focus on working capital management maintained 
  • Awarded £90m of grant funding in support of our capex investment to increase the capacity of our Norwegian site, amid unprecedented levels of demand for its products 
  • Strategy to increase overall investment in our Energetics capacity expansion plan from £120m to £200m, excluding grant funding. Targeting increased revenues (£100m p.a.) and operating profit (£30m p.a.) in 2028 
  • Good progress made on capital projects to date, with £34m of capex spent in total during the period, and customers increasingly moving to long-term partnering agreements 
  • A further £28m deployed into the £50m share buyback programme announced on 1 August 2023 
  • Net debt was £75.3m (H1 2023: £25.0m), with the increase as expected due to our decision to invest in capex. Net debt to underlying EBITDA of 0.85 times (H1 2023: 0.36 times) remains below the Group’s internal target of less than 1.5 times cover 
  • Interim dividend per share of 2.6p, up 13% (H1 2023: 2.3p) 
  • The Board’s expectations for 2024 are unchanged, with heavier H2 weighting of operating profit as previously communicated in February 2024. Approximately 93% (H1 2023: 90%) of expected H2 revenue was in the order book at 30 April 2024
  • The Group has the ambition to increase annual revenue to c.£1bn by 2030 
  • The Group’s longer-term growth prospects are strong, underpinned by robust activity levels, our leading technological offerings, our people, high barriers to entry, and the investments we continue to make in our strong, high-quality business 

Group Chief Executive statement

“The momentum seen in 2023 has continued with another period of record order intake and an order book of over £1bn, the highest in Chemring’s history. This strong order intake across both sectors has further increased our order cover for the second half of 2024 to 93% and the Board’s expectations for the full year are unchanged. 

“The increase in geo-political tensions around the world is driving a fundamental rearmament upcycle which is expected to last for at least the next decade. This visibility, together with the support of grant funding and our customers’ desire to move to long-term partnering agreements, gives us the confidence to invest further in capacity and capability, reinforcing Chemring’s position as a key supplier to NATO, and positioning the Group well for the future. We now have the ambition to increase annual revenue to c.£1bn by 2030.” 

Outlook – full year and longer term

The Board’s full year expectations are unchanged, supported by order coverage at 30 April 2024 of 93% of expected H2 revenue, with a heavier H2 weighting of operating profit as previously communicated in February 2024. 

The market backdrop for defence is increasingly robust. The Group’s longer-term growth prospects are strong, underpinned by robust activity levels, our leading technological offerings, our people, high barriers to entry, and the investments we continue to make in our strong, high-quality business. With customers needing to re-equip and modernise their defence capabilities providing increased visibility, and with a robust strategy, the Group has the ambition to increase the Group’s annual revenue to c.£1bn by 2030. This makes certain assumptions regarding market sizes, inclusion of some bolt-on M&A and is at current FX rates. The Group will continue to focus on cash generation and maintaining a robust and deployable balance sheet to enable opportunities for further growth. 

With market-leading innovative technologies and services that are critical to our customers the Board is confident that Chemring will continue to deliver both robust organic and inorganic growth, balancing near-term performance with longer-term value creation.