Author: Fiona Craig

Cohort plc (LSE:CHRT) reported record financial results for the year ended 30 April 2026, with revenue increasing 13 percent to 306.4 million pounds and adjusted operating profit rising 32 percent to 36.3 million pounds. The group’s adjusted operating margin improved to 11.8 percent, while adjusted earnings per share increased 14 percent. Order intake reached 314.2 million pounds, exceeding annual revenue for another year, and the company increased its dividend by 10 percent, marking its twentieth consecutive year of dividend growth.

Record order book supports future growth

Cohort ended the financial year with a record order book of 618.8 million pounds, extending through to 2037. Following contract awards secured after the year end, the order book now covers almost 88 percent of expected market revenue for the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

Growth was led by the Communications and Intelligence division, which benefited from the first full year contribution from EM Solutions. Performance in the Sensors and Effectors division remained broadly stable during the year.

Financial flexibility strengthened

The company renewed and significantly expanded its banking facilities, increasing available funding to 175 million pounds with an additional 50 million pound accordion facility. Management said the enhanced financing provides greater flexibility to support future investment, acquisitions and long-term growth.

Cohort also noted that trading and earnings exceeded market expectations, supported by strong international demand for defence technologies. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, rising geopolitical tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and increased NATO defence spending continue to drive customer demand across its markets.

Positive outlook backed by strong pipeline

Management reiterated its target of delivering double-digit earnings growth during the 2026 to 2027 financial year and the following two years. The company is also targeting around 120 million pounds of cash generation before capital expenditure and dividend payments over the same period.

The combination of a record order book, improving margins and healthy demand provides a strong foundation for continued expansion in global defence technology markets.

About Cohort plc

Cohort plc is a UK-based defence technology company listed on AIM that develops communications, intelligence, surveillance, sonar and defence systems for military and government customers.

The group operates through seven subsidiaries across the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Portugal and is organised into two main divisions: Communications and Intelligence, and Sensors and Effectors. Its businesses supply secure communications, electronic warfare systems, sonar technology, surveillance equipment and fire control solutions to customers across NATO countries and international defence markets.

Cohort employs more than 1,700 people and has increased its dividend every year since its stock market listing in 2006, reflecting its long-term focus on defence technology and disciplined financial management.

B&M European Value Retail (LSE:BME) reported 2 percent group revenue growth during the first quarter of the 2027 financial year, supported by strong trading in France and a solid contribution from Heron Foods. In the UK, overall revenue increased modestly, although like-for-like sales declined following a weaker gardening and outdoor season compared with exceptionally strong weather-driven demand in the same period last year.

UK business focuses on core retail strategy

Management said trading in general merchandise has continued to improve, while disciplined inventory management has helped return seasonal stock levels to normal following successful clearance activity.

The company is continuing to implement its Back to B&M Basics strategy, which includes simplifying its fast-moving consumer goods product range, improving margin management and strengthening operational efficiency across the business.

B&M also announced the appointment of experienced retail executive Atheeq Akbar as chief financial officer, a move expected to support the group’s efforts to improve profitability and reinforce its position within the value retail sector.

Cash generation remains a key strength

The company continues to benefit from healthy cash generation and an attractive valuation, supported by a relatively low price-to-earnings ratio and a high dividend yield.

These strengths are balanced by higher leverage and a significant decline in profitability during 2026. Technical indicators remain supportive, with the shares continuing to trade in an upward trend, although momentum is approaching levels that may indicate the stock is becoming overbought.

About B&M European Value Retail SA

B&M European Value Retail is a discount retailer operating across the United Kingdom and France. The group trades primarily through its B&M stores and also owns the Heron Foods and B&M Express convenience formats.

At the end of the reporting period, the company operated 797 B&M stores in the UK, 340 Heron Foods and B&M Express outlets, and 151 B&M stores in France. Its product range focuses on general merchandise and fast-moving consumer goods, serving value-conscious consumers through a low-cost retail model.

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited (LSE:NESF) has launched a formal sale process as it seeks to address the long-standing discount between its share price and net asset value. The board, supported by investment manager NextEnergy Capital IM, believes exploring a potential sale of the company could unlock greater value for shareholders following an extended period in which the market has undervalued the fund despite the performance of its underlying portfolio.

Formal process opens to potential bidders

The company has invited interested parties to submit proposals for the acquisition of its entire issued share capital. Rothschild and Co has been appointed to advise on the process, with prospective bidders required to enter into confidentiality and standstill agreements before receiving further information.

At this stage, the company confirmed there are no active discussions or formal offers in place. The board also retains the right to modify, suspend or terminate the sale process at any time if it believes doing so is in the best interests of shareholders.

The announcement also marks the beginning of an official offer period under the UK Takeover Code, triggering additional disclosure obligations for shareholders and other market participants.

Sale process aims to unlock shareholder value

Management said the decision reflects continued frustration with the company’s stock market valuation, with the shares trading at a sustained discount to net asset value despite stable operational performance from its solar asset portfolio.

The board believes that exploring strategic alternatives offers the best opportunity to close the valuation gap and maximise long-term shareholder value.

Strong balance sheet offsets earnings challenges

NextEnergy Solar Fund continues to benefit from improving cash generation and a debt-free balance sheet, providing financial stability despite weaker financial performance in recent years.

The company’s investment profile remains affected by declining revenue and reported losses, while technical indicators continue to point to subdued share price momentum. Although the shares offer a relatively high dividend yield, the absence of earnings profitability continues to weigh on valuation.

About NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited is a London-listed investment company that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of solar energy assets.

The fund invests in utility-scale and rooftop solar projects designed to generate long-term, predictable income from renewable electricity production. Its strategy is focused on providing investors with infrastructure-style returns while supporting the transition towards cleaner energy generation.

Supermarket Income REIT (LSE:SUPR) plans to raise approximately 100 million pounds through a share issue comprising an institutional placing, a South African placing for qualifying investors and a UK retail offer. The proceeds will help fund a 216 million pound pipeline of grocery property acquisitions, alongside existing debt facilities, as the company continues to expand its portfolio while targeting a loan-to-value ratio below 45 percent.

Acquisition pipeline expected to boost earnings

The proposed capital raise will support the acquisition of three UK supermarkets and six additional grocery properties secured by strong tenant covenants and inflation-linked leases.

Management said the acquisition pipeline is expected to increase earnings per share from the first full year of ownership while causing only minimal dilution to net tangible assets. The properties also offer opportunities to extend lease terms, improving long-term income visibility and enhancing total returns for shareholders.

Growth strategy backed by refinancing

The latest fundraising follows a series of recent acquisitions and lease renewals that have increased the weighted average unexpired lease term across the portfolio.

The company also completed a 445 million pound debt refinancing, reducing financing costs while extending the average maturity of its borrowings. Management believes these measures strengthen Supermarket Income REIT’s position as a scalable and low-cost owner of grocery real estate.

The company continues to pursue its long-term objective of doubling the size of its property portfolio through disciplined acquisitions and prudent financial management.

Attractive valuation supports investment case

Supermarket Income REIT continues to benefit from a relatively attractive valuation, supported by a low price-to-earnings ratio and a high dividend yield. The business also maintains solid operating margins and a strong balance sheet.

These strengths are partly offset by recent declines in revenue and free cash flow, together with a broadly neutral technical share price outlook. Updated dividend guidance and continued cost discipline provide additional support, although leverage and near-term earnings per share pressures remain factors for investors to monitor.

About Supermarket Income REIT plc

Supermarket Income REIT plc is a UK-listed real estate investment trust specialising in grocery-led property assets, including supermarkets, retail parks and distribution facilities.

Its portfolio is primarily leased to major investment-grade supermarket operators under long-term, inflation-linked triple-net lease agreements, providing stable and predictable rental income. Alongside its UK portfolio, the company also has a selective presence in France and aims to generate long-term shareholder returns through disciplined property investment and active asset management.

Hunting PLC (LSE:HTG) reported a solid performance for the first half of 2026, with EBITDA of approximately 62 million dollars in line with guidance and an EBITDA margin of around 12 percent. Strong demand for its subsea and perforating systems businesses helped offset weaker trading across its OCTG and manufacturing operations. The company also reported a sales order book of approximately 387 million dollars, while its tender pipeline remained close to 1 billion dollars.

Strong subsea demand supports order growth

During the first half, Hunting secured 63.5 million dollars of orders for subsea titanium stress joints in Guyana, while its perforating systems business continued to benefit from robust demand across both international and North American markets.

The company also continued to advance its Organic Oil Recovery technology, which now has more than 30 active customers as it moves towards broader commercial deployment.

Second-half recovery expected

Management maintained its full-year EBITDA guidance of between 145 million dollars and 155 million dollars and continues to expect stronger activity during the second half of the year.

The company is also progressing restructuring initiatives within its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, while continuing to explore bolt-on acquisitions in the subsea and intelligent completions markets. Hunting has also begun the process of appointing a new chief executive officer and confirmed plans to transition its external auditor to KPMG in 2027.

Cash position reflects investment and shareholder returns

Higher working capital requirements and capital returned to shareholders resulted in a modest net debt position at the halfway stage of the year. However, Hunting continues to benefit from a resilient balance sheet, supported by positive earnings guidance, a substantial tender pipeline and ongoing plans for share buybacks and dividend growth.

Investors will continue to monitor cash flow generation and order book conversion, particularly given the cyclical nature of the energy services sector and the decline in free cash flow reported during 2025.

About Hunting PLC

Hunting PLC is a global precision engineering company that supplies specialised products and services to the energy industry and selected industrial markets. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates from offices and manufacturing facilities across the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

Its business spans a range of technologies including oil country tubular goods, perforating systems, subsea equipment, advanced manufacturing and engineered products, serving customers involved in energy production and infrastructure worldwide.

Beeks Financial Cloud Group (LSE:BKS) delivered another year of strong financial performance in the 2026 financial year, with revenue increasing 11 percent to approximately 40 million pounds and underlying EBITDA rising 18 percent to around 16 million pounds, in line with market expectations. The company also ended the year with annualised committed monthly recurring revenue growth of 15 percent on a constant currency basis, reaching 34 million pounds, supported by recurring income from its Private Cloud and Exchange Cloud platforms.

Recurring revenue strengthens outlook

Beeks said continued growth in recurring revenue provides greater earnings visibility for the 2027 financial year. Revenue generated through Private Cloud services and revenue-sharing agreements within Exchange Cloud continues to strengthen the company’s long-term revenue base while supporting future expansion.

Management said demand remains healthy across its cloud infrastructure platforms, with several major deployments continuing to scale.

New products and customer wins drive momentum

During the year, Beeks secured three early customer agreements for its newly launched Market Edge Intelligence artificial intelligence analytics platform. The company also expanded its Exchange Cloud offering through additional deployments with TMX, nuam and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.

Although significant investment in infrastructure reduced the group’s year-end net cash position, management said several major deployments have already become cash flow positive, providing a stronger platform for future profitable growth.

As the company enters the new financial year, it expects continued momentum across its Market Edge Intelligence, Exchange Cloud, Proximity Cloud and Private Cloud businesses.

Investment supports long-term growth

Beeks continues to benefit from steady revenue growth, improving operating margins and a stable financial position. These strengths are offset by weaker technical indicators, with the shares trading below key moving averages, alongside a relatively high price-to-earnings valuation and the absence of a dividend.

Management believes recent investment in infrastructure and new products positions the business well to capture further growth opportunities within global capital markets technology.

About Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc is a London-listed technology company that provides managed cloud infrastructure and connectivity services for financial institutions, exchanges and capital markets participants.

Its Infrastructure as a Service platform delivers low-latency computing, secure connectivity and analytics solutions that enable customers to deploy hybrid cloud environments across trading venues, exchanges and public cloud providers. The company focuses on supporting the performance, reliability and scalability requirements of modern financial markets.

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (LSE:GSF) reported a significant decline in net asset value for the year ended 31 March 2026 as weaker battery storage revenues weighed on portfolio valuations. Net asset value per share fell to 74.9 pence from 102.8 pence a year earlier, reflecting lower merchant revenue forecasts and softer realised revenues across several of the fund’s key markets. Despite the valuation decline, revenue increased to 36.27 million pounds as the operational portfolio continued to expand, while operational EBITDA remained broadly stable at 18.0 million pounds.

New strategy focuses on improving shareholder returns

The newly appointed Board has introduced a revised strategy aimed at increasing shareholder value through higher fixed distributions, targeted asset disposals, reinvestment into battery upgrades and development projects, and further cost reductions.

The fund has already begun marketing selected assets for sale, while battery augmentation projects at two UK sites remain on schedule. These upgrades are expected to increase storage duration and improve long-term earnings potential. The Board also stated that it may bring forward the company’s continuation vote if newly established performance targets are not achieved, highlighting its commitment to improving returns.

Operational performance remains resilient

Although market conditions remained challenging, the portfolio continued to perform strongly from an operational perspective. Average asset availability reached 94.5 percent during the year, while the battery fleet stored 56,975 megawatt hours of renewable electricity and helped avoid 15,142 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

However, lower independent revenue forecasts, increased operating and fund costs, together with slightly higher discount rates, contributed to a substantial reduction in portfolio valuations. The company said these factors reflect growing competition within battery storage markets and more conservative long-term market assumptions.

Strong balance sheet supports transition

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund continues to benefit from a strong balance sheet and healthy recent cash generation. Shareholder-friendly initiatives, including cost-saving measures, strategic changes and director share purchases, also provide support for the investment case.

These strengths are balanced by weaker technical share price performance, volatile operating results and a negative price-to-earnings ratio, although the fund’s relatively high dividend yield remains an attractive feature for income-focused investors.

About Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc is a London-listed investment company specialising in battery energy storage systems across multiple international electricity markets. The fund owns a diversified portfolio of assets that generate revenue by providing energy balancing and grid support services while helping integrate renewable energy into electricity networks.

At the end of the financial year, the portfolio comprised 28 projects with total capacity of 1.16 gigawatts, including 643.11 megawatts of operational assets and 458.05 megawatts under development. Through its battery storage investments, the company aims to improve grid flexibility, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and support the transition to cleaner energy systems.