Cohort PLC on Wednesday reported double-digit growth and said its order book provides long term revenue visibility.

The Reading, England-based technology firm is the parent company of businesses operating in the defence sector.

In the year that ended on April 30, pretax profit rose 42% to £19.8 million from £13.9 million the previous year.

Revenue increased 11% to £202.5 million from £182.7 million, while cost of sales grew 7.1% to £126.3 million from £117.9 million.

Cohort raised its final dividend 10% to 10.10 pence per share from 9.15p. Therefore, bringing the total dividend to 14.80p, up 10% from 13.40p.

Chair Nick Prest said: ‘Cohort continues to see good demand for our products and services from both our domestic customers, especially the UK, and from export customers. The geopolitical tensions driving increased investment in defence have remained unrelenting during the year, with conflicts in the Ukraine coupled with tensions in the Asia-Pacific region leading to increased spending internationally.’

The closing order book stood at £518.7 million, surpassing £500 million or the first time in the company’s history.

‘Our order book not only grew in value, but its longevity further increased, providing visibility out to 2037. We have good prospects to secure further long-term orders for our naval systems and support work,’ Cohort said.

The order book underpinned £184 million, or 90%, of current financial year revenue. However, since the start of this financial year, cover now stands at over 95% with an additional £70 million in orders secured.

On Wednesday, Cohort said the order book was further enhanced after its subsidiary, Marlborough Communications Ltd, was awarded two orders with a combined value of £21.4 million by a UK government customer.

Work will begin immediately and is expected to be completed within one year.

Cohort shares were up 3.8% to 857.57 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.

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