Trading Update

SDI

21/05/2026 07:00

RNS Number : 1624F

SDI Group PLC

21 May 2026

 

SDI Group plc

("SDI", the "Company", or the "Group")

 

Trading Update

 

21 May 2026 - SDI Group plc, the buy and build group, focused on companies which design and manufacture specialist lab equipment, industrial & scientific sensors and industrial & scientific products, provides a trading update for the year ended 30 April 2026 ("FY26").

 

The Company expects full year earnings to be in line with current market expectations1, with strong trading over the second half of the year, despite the broader macroeconomic challenges. The year saw an improvement in operating margin delivering in-line earnings, with revenue at the lower end of expectations. The Group generated stronger organic growth in FY26, particularly during the second half of the financial year.

 

At 30 April 2026, following the acquisition of PRP Optoelectronics, the Group had net debt of £24.0m (excluding deferred consideration of £0.7m) and £4.0m of undrawn bank facility (excluding a £9.0m accordion option).

 

The Group has a strong order book moving into FY27 and looks forward to providing shareholders with a comprehensive update at the full year results, which are expected to be announced in late July.

 

Operational Update

 

The Group strategy is to drive growth by acquiring and developing niche industrial and scientific businesses that address critical customer challenges, whilst supporting organic growth within the portfolio through strategic initiatives, maximising synergies, operational efficiencies and cross-sell opportunities where appropriate.

 

Organic

During the year, there has been solid order intake from all divisions, with highlights including:

·      Sentek securing a significant contract with a multinational industrial manufacturing customer;

·      Scientific Vacuum Systems receiving a multimillion-pound contract from one of the world's largest consumer brands;

·      Chell building on last year's strong performance, with continued demand for its products from its diverse customer base including gas meter manufacturers, aerospace and Formula 1;

·      LTE Scientific and Safelab Systems securing, and in the process of delivering, significant contracts for key customers;

·      Severn Thermal Solutions continuing to execute existing significant contracts for nuclear fusion applications; and

·      Fraser Anti-Static Techniques and InspecVision seeing sustained demand for their products from international customer bases, including South Korea and North America respectively.

 

Acquisitions

During the year, the Group completed two acquisitions, with both businesses performing well post-acquisition:

·      Severn Thermal Solutions, a designer and manufacturer of high temperature furnace systems and environmental chambers for advanced material processing and testing, acquired in June 2025; and

·      PRP Optoelectronics ("PRP"), a designer and manufacturer of custom high performance microLEDs, LED light engines and monolithic LEDs for a range of applications within the avionics, defence and industrial sectors, acquired in February 2026.

 

 

Stephen Brown, Chief Executive Officer of SDI, said:

 

"We are proud to have delivered a strong performance in FY26, against the backdrop of increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, further underpinning the value of our portfolio model. New product development, coupled with new client wins both internationally and in the UK, and partnering on pioneering projects remain the mainstay of our business.

Our strategy remains unchanged - to continue to support organic growth across the portfolio whilst exploring opportunities to expand the business through targeted acquisition."

 

 

[1] Analysts from SDI's joint corporate brokers Cavendish Capital Markets Limited and Stifel together with Progressive Equity Research regularly provide research on the Company, accessible from SDI's website, and the Group considers the average of their forecasts to represent market expectations, which at 20 May 2026, for FY26 were Sales of £75.4m and Adjusted Profit Before Tax of £9.8m.

 

 

Enquiries:
SDI Group plc
Stephen Brown, Chief Executive Officer
Amitabh Sharma, Chief Financial Officer
James Dimitriou, Group Head of Corporate Development
+44 (0)1223 727144
www.sdigroup.com
Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd (NOMAD & Joint Corporate Broker)
Ed Frisby / Seamus Fricker - Corporate Finance
Andrew Burdis / Sunila de Silva - Corporate Broking
+44 (0)20 7220 0500
Stifel (Joint Corporate Broker)
Fred Walsh / Brough Ransom / Ben Good
+44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Vigo Consulting (Financial Communications)
Tim McCall / Rozi Morris / Fiona Hetherington
+44 (0)20 7390 0230
SDIGroup@vigoconsulting.com

 

About SDI Group plc

 

SDI Group plc is a group of small to medium size companies with specialist industrial and scientific products in growth sector niches which help solve customers' key challenges.

 

It specialises in the acquisition and development of companies that design and manufacture specialist products for use in lab equipment, industrial & scientific sensors and industrial & scientific products.

 

Its portfolio of businesses serves a broad spectrum of specialised markets, ranging from advanced industrial technologies (aerospace & defense, manufacturing, semiconductors and precision measurement) to scientific and medical applications (life sciences, healthcare, astronomy).

 

SDI aims to continue its growth through driving the organic growth of its portfolio companies and by the acquisition of complementary technology businesses with established reputations in global markets.

 

For more information, please see: www.SDIGroup.com

 

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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