LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Science Group posted a sharp rise in first-half profit on Monday, boosted by a substantial gain from its investment in Ricardo plc, as it continued to generate strong cash flow and delivered a robust underlying performance across its core businesses.
Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June surged to £32.2m, up from £7.6m a year earlier, after the group realised a £24m gain on the sale of its stake in Ricardo.

The AIM-traded firm said the investment, acquired for £32.4m earlier in the year, was sold in June following a takeover offer for Ricardo at a premium of over 100%, delivering a return on investment of more than 74%.

Excluding the Ricardo gain, adjusted operating profit rose modestly to £11.3m from £11m, on revenue of £57.2m, up 6.5% year-on-year.

Adjusted basic earnings per share grew to 19.3p from 18.1p, while statutory basic earnings per share jumped to 55.3 pence.

Science Group ended the period with £82m in cash and net funds of £70.3m, more than double the levels of a year ago.

The group's revolving credit facility of £30m remained undrawn.

It said its professional services division faced softer demand amid international political and economic volatility, with revenue down to £33.2m from £36.5m.

Adjusted operating profit slipped to £7.9m, but margins remained strong at 23.9%.

The group said it was seeing signs of improving sentiment in the second half.

Its systems businesses, however, delivered a strong performance.

Critical Maritime Systems & Support (CMS2), which supplies submarine atmosphere management systems, increased revenue to £16.6m from £10.9m, with adjusted operating profit up to £3.6m.

Frontier, its audio chip and module unit, grew revenue by 20% to £7.1m and swung to an adjusted profit of £0.9m.

The group continued its share buyback programme, acquiring 310,110 shares at an average of 460p, and said it may return further capital to shareholders via a tender offer, given its surplus cash and limited domestic acquisition opportunities.

Chairman Martyn Ratcliffe said the group's hybrid model and financial discipline enabled it to weather market volatility and capitalise on opportunities.

"The first half of 2025 continued the Group's operating track record, delivering another robust performance with strong cash conversion," he said.

"The Science Group model ... once again demonstrated its resilience."

Looking ahead, Science Group said it was well-positioned, with its strong balance sheet allowing for continued evaluation of both operational investment and strategic corporate opportunities.

At 1050 BST, shares in Science Group were up 2.55% at 564p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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