Petards says its defence and rail divisions has seen order intake ‘at levels not seen for several years’

Gateshead security tech firm Petards has hailed a boosted £9.2m order book as it expects to post a 24% lift in sales. The listed Team Valley company develops advanced security, communication and surveillance systems for the traffic, wireless, rail and defence sectors, and was recently awarded a £2.2m contract by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Limited (RBSL), a joint venture between the largest defence manufacturers in Germany and the UK.

The firm has now released a full-year trading update in which it says improvements in the first half of the year carried through to the remainder of the year, with the year closing with an improved order book. The group said group revenues for 2025 are expected to be up 24% year-on-year to around £14.9m, with adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of circa £1m, more than double the previous year’s £400,000.

Bosses pointed to a boost in trading within Petards Rail and Petards Defence, with both seeing increases in revenue and profitability, as well as profitable maiden full year’s contribution from Affini, the Derby-based wireless specialist that Petards acquired last year. It said order intake for the year for Petards Rail and Petards Defence were “at levels not seen for several years”.

Following contract awards from the MOD, RBSL and BAE Systems in the last two months of the year totalling £3.5m, the group’s year end order book closed at £9.2m, up from £7.1m, with around 85% scheduled for delivery this year. Meanwhile, QRO – its subsidiary which specialises in providing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and mobile average speed solutions – secured some important framework contract wins during the year.

It said delays in the placement of orders within QRO affected its trading in the second half-year, resulting in lower revenues. Looking ahead, however, it said “revenue momentum is expected to recover” on the back of framework contracts, significant market interest in the newly launched Harrier Mini, and the conversion of overseas opportunities.

Commenting on the current outlook, Raschid Abdullah, chairman, said: “Petards performed well in 2025 generating cash and increasing revenues, with improvements in gross profit margin and profitability, while increasing its order book to £9.2 million at the year end.

“The group enters 2026 in a stronger position than it has in the past few years. While trading continues to be challenging with extended tendering processes, given the strength of the opening order book and its cover for 2026 revenues, the Group is well placed to deliver a continued improvement in its trading performance in the coming year.”

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