Nexteq warns on revenue amid continued de-stocking, product launch delays

Business-to-business technology company Nexteq warned on revenues on Thursday as continued to see ongoing, cross-industry de-stocking since its H1 report resulted in reduced order intake levels.

Additionally, Nexteq noted that while customer retention has remained "impressively high", it has also seen certain customer product and project launches being delayed into Q125, with customers opting to delay agreed new project expenditure into a new budget year.

As a result, the AIM-listed group expects FY24 revenue to be 10-12% below previous market expectations of $93.9m to $96.0m. It also expects FY24 group adjusted pre-tax profits to be at least $6.0m.

Nexteq also said its current order book going into 2025 remained "lower in value than previously anticipated", and stated there was still uncertainty around the ongoing de-stocking. However, it did note that its pipeline of new product launches and new customer projects "remains encouraging", with several new customer wins being integrated through 2025.

Chief executive Duncan Faithfull said: "Whilst it is disappointing to have customer projects extended beyond the company's financial period end, we remain laser-focused on delivering to our customers high quality, innovative new products together with outstanding levels of service - the foundations of our market-leading reputation.

"Whilst we are engaged in a detailed review of the business, I am encouraged by the pipeline from an increasingly diversified range of products and services, supported by underlying market drivers and a robust balance sheet. Growth expectations in 2026 and 2027 will be fuelled by the development work being done now."

As of 1150 GMT, Nexteq shares had slumped 18.47% to 72.56p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com