Judges Scientific (AIM:JDG), the AIM-listed group that acquires and develops scientific instrument businesses, reported adjusted pre-tax profit down 75% to £3.2m for the six months to 30 June, against £12.6m a year earlier.
Group revenue fell 21% to £55.7m, from £70.2m in the first half of 2025, hit by the expected absence of a Geotek coring expedition alongside weaker US research funding, delayed offshore wind projects and disruption to China's procurement processes.
Adjusted basic earnings per share dropped 72% to 39.0p, while the group swung to a statutory pre-tax loss of £1.7m from a £6.6m profit, after £4.9m of adjusting items including £4.5m in amortisation of acquired intangibles.
Eight of the group's businesses still grew during the period, helped by a recovery in battery development and continued strength in semiconductor manufacturing.
"The result, I regret, is a very poor first half performance," David Cicurel, non-executive chair, though he, noted order intake has "significantly improved through the early part of the second half to near parity with last year".
Order intake fell 12% in the first half, with China/Hong Kong down 47% on tax exemption delays and the US down 7% on federal funding uncertainty; the order book stood at 17.3 weeks, broadly flat with 17.4 weeks a year earlier.
Adjusted net debt rose to £45.3m from £42.6m at end-2025, with gearing up to 2.1 times from 1.5 times; cash generated from operations was £4.3m against £12.3m a year earlier.
The board lifted the interim dividend by 10% and extended its multibank facilities with Lloyds, Santander and HSBC UK by two years to 1 July 2030.
Chief financial officer Brad Ormsby will step down but remain for 12 months to support a handover, while the board maintained full-year guidance in line with current market expectations of 200.5p adjusted earnings per share.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Judges Scientific's adjusted pre-tax profit collapsed 75% to £3.2m in H1 2026, driven by the absence of a major Geotek expedition, weak US research funding, China procurement delays, and offshore wind project postponements. Despite the sharp earnings miss, management held full-year guidance at 200.5p adjusted EPS and lifted the interim dividend 10%, citing a recovery in order intake in early H2—a signal the board believes the trough has passed, though the order book remains flat year-on-year at 17.3 weeks.
The earnings collapse is material against the company's small profit base, but the maintained full-year guidance and improved order intake suggest H1 was cyclical rather than structural. The 10% dividend increase signals confidence, though gearing has risen to 2.1x and operating cash flow halved; execution in H2 will determine whether the order intake recovery translates to earnings recovery or whether guidance proves optimistic.
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