James Fisher and Sons (FSJ) H1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Delivered a solid first half 2025 performance with a 14.4% increase in underlying operating profit and margin improvement to 5.8%, supported by turnaround initiatives and the One James Fisher Model.

• Revenue for 1H 2025 was £191.9m, steady on a like-for-like basis but down 13.4% reported due to disposals.

• Diversified order book rose 45% year-over-year to £315 million, driven by growth initiatives and strong Defence segment performance.

• Continued investment in innovation, technology, talent, and targeted geographic expansion to position for future growth.

• Turnaround strategy and structural improvements are driving margin and ROCE gains, positioning for growth.

Financial highlights

• Underlying operating profit up 14.4% year-over-year to £11.1m like-for-like, with margin up 80bps to 5.8%; reported operating profit down 33.9% due to disposals.

• Net debt at £72.1m (covenant basis), with net debt-to-EBITDA at 1.6x, slightly above target due to growth investments.

• Underlying profit before tax increased 4.7% to £4.5m, aided by lower net interest costs.

• Net finance charge fell 46.4% to £6.7m, reflecting deleveraging and improved lending terms.

• CapEx and development expenditure for H1 was £16.3m–£19.2m, with full-year guidance of £30–35m.

Outlook and guidance

• Trading to end of August in line with expectations; full-year 2025 guidance unchanged despite macro uncertainty in energy markets.

• CapEx and development spend expected at £30–35 million; bank interest rate around 8.5%.

• Underlying effective tax rate for 2025 expected around 29%, with some impact from unrecognised tax credits.

• Second half expected to be seasonally stronger, with performance weighted to H2.