Petards reports lower annual profits, cautious outlook

Security and surveillance systems group Petards reported a big drop in earnings for 2023 and gave a cautious outlook for the current year, causing shares to drop sharply on Thursday.

The news came as Petards announced the £2.8m acquisition of Affini Technology Group, a critical communications solutions provider to the transport, blue light, energy, defence and construction sectors. Petards said the deal will build its target markets and provide a strong recurring revenue stream.

Adjusted EBITDA in 2023 totalled just £0.34m, own from a £1.16m in 2022, on revenues that were 12.5% lower at £9.42m.

The company said that, following a difficult first half year, trading in the second six months of 2023 showed a marked improvement.

Nevertheless, the outlook still remains gloomy. The order book at the end of the year was just £2.4m, down from £4.1m a year earlier.

Meanwhile, after a strong first quarter of 2024, second-quarter trading has seen "signs of weakness", according to chair Raschid Abdullah, relating to delays in some expected orders.

"The current expectation is that most, if not all, of these orders will be received during the course of the year, revenues from which will be determined by the timing of order receipt," Abdullah said.

The stock was down 9% at 7.37p by 1100 BST.