Trading in the year to 30 April was predictably uneventful for Cohort (CHRT), a small UK defence systems and training company which works mainly for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Budgets at the MoD are fairly stable, although spending is shifting somewhat to areas in which Cohort excels, such as intelligence assets, submarines and combat aircraft.
IC TIP:
Buy
at
201p
Turnover was more or less flat year on year, as were the company’s net cash position and order book. After adjusting for adverse currency movements and exceptional costs - such as a £2m write-off of goodwill associated with the recently sold Space business - earnings per share increased slightly to 19.2p, thanks to a lower tax charge.