Cohort achieves record operating profits and order intake

Independent technology group Cohort told shareholders at its annual general meeting on Tuesday that it achieved record adjusted operating profits and order intake over the year ending in April.

Cohort chairman Nick Prest said the group had made further progress during the year, with its MASS, MCL and SEA businesses all posting increases in profits.

He also noted that the group had benefitted from its acquisition of Chess Technologies in December 2018, which performed ahead of its expectations.

However, the group warned that some of the above gains had been partially offset by a weaker performance at EID, which it said was expected to improve in the current year.

The AIM-listed group highlighted a 10.4% increase in its order book to £210.9m as at 31 August, underpinning almost 76% of the full year's externally forecast revenue.

Cohort also revealed net debt had more than doubled between April's end and August to reach £12.9m, in line with expectations, due to the partial unwinding of working capital at the end of the year.

Prest said: "We retain the financial resources to augment organic growth through targeted acquisitions, and expect the group to continue to make progress this year and beyond.

"This takes into consideration the budgetary risks of our main UK customer, an improved performance from EID, the timing of exports and our strong order book."

As of 0900 BST, Cohort shares had ticked up 0.53% to 475.52p.