Using our extensive science and engineering expertise, we turn ideas into reality, designing and developing critical solutions that protect and safeguard in unpredictable environments in today’s increasingly unstable world.
We achieve this by innovating at every stage of the value chain, from research and development (“R&D”) through to design, manufacture and in-service support, working closely with our customers to deliver products, services and solutions for mission-critical success.
Our customer base spans national defence organisations, security and law enforcement agencies, as well as commercial markets such as space and transport. We support our customers in more than fifty countries across the globe.
Chemring is organised into two sectors:
- Countermeasures & Energetics
- Sensors & Information
Results for the year ended 31 October 2024
* All profit and earnings per share figures relate to underlying measures from continuing operations unless otherwise stated.
Key Achievements
- 2024 was in line with the Board’s initial expectations despite H1 headwinds
- Revenue growth of 8%, driven by strong performance at Roke, up 17%, and growth in our specialist Energetic materials businesses, up 12%, offset by a weaker year for Countermeasures
- Underlying operating profit margin of 13.9% (2023: 14.6%) primarily reflecting the impact of operational challenges at our Tennessee countermeasures business in the year
- Improved cash conversion of 102% (2023: 90%) with continued focus on working capital
- A record order book of £1,038m, the highest in Chemring’s history, providing excellent medium-term revenue coverage
- Awarded c.£90m of grant funding to support 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
- Good progress made on capital projects to date, with £70m of capex spent in total during the year, and customers increasingly moving to long-term partnering agreements
- Net debt was £52.8m (2023: £14.4m), given c£70m investment in capex and a further £28.1m on the share buyback. Net debt to underlying EBITDA of 0.56 times (2023: 0.16 times) below internal target of <1.5 times
- Proposed final dividend per share of 5.2p, up 13%, giving a total dividend of 7.8p (2.5 times cover)
- The Board’s expectations for 2025 are unchanged, with a similar H2 weighting. Approximately 77% (2023: 79%) of expected 2025 revenue is already covered by the order book, with unprecedented cover in Countermeasures & Energetics for 2026 and 2027 at 81% and 52% respectively