UK's Science Group profit jumps on corporate investment gain

Science

17/03/2026 07:24

Overview

UK science and engineering services firm's 2025 revenue rose slightly, adjusted operating profit hit record

Statutory profit before tax surged on £24.1 mln gain from corporate investment

Share buyback more than doubled to £10.7 mln; 25% dividend increase recommended

Outlook

Company expects organic revenue growth may be constrained by current geopolitical and economic conditions

Board will continue to prioritize margin, profit and correlated cash conversion in 2026

Company anticipates share buy-back programme capital allocation in 2026 at a broadly similar level to 2025

Result Drivers

CORPORATE INVESTMENT GAIN - Statutory profit before tax was boosted by a £24.1 mln gain from the disposal of a corporate investment

MARGIN FOCUS - Adjusted operating profit rose despite almost flat revenue, reflecting emphasis on operating margin and profitability

Company press release: ID:nRSQ8520Wa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
FY Revenue
Slight Beat*
GBP 111.66 mln
GBP 110.87 mln (1 Analyst)
FY EPS
GBP 0.74
FY Net Income
GBP 33.27 mln
FY Adjusted EBIT
GBP 23.07 mln
FY Basic EPS
GBP 0.75
FY EBIT
GBP 40.93 mln
FY Pretax Profit
GBP 41.50 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "strong buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", no "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the business support services peer group is "buy."

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Science Group PLC is GBp735.00, about 37.4% above its March 16 closing price of GBp535.00

The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 14 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)