NCC decides to remain London listed as pure-play cyber security firm
NCC Group PLC on Thursday reported a swing to loss in the first half of its financial year, while saying its strategy review has concluded that ‘remaining a listed company is in the best interests of shareholders’.
Last month, the Manchester, England-based company completed the sale of its Escode business to TDR Capital LLP, leaving NCC as a ‘pure-play cyber security and resilience business’.
Escode was sold for an enterprise value of £275.0 million, bringing net proceeds before transaction costs of £262.8 million. NCC plans to return £185 million of this to shareholders, it confirmed on Thursday. This will consist of a £170 million tender offer for shares, followed by a £15 million share buy back.
NCC also on Thursday declared a 1.50 pence per share interim dividend, unchanged from a year before. It said its level of dividend distributions will need to be adjusted following the Escode sale, and the board will confirm its plan for this after the tender offer is completed.
When the Escode disposal was agreed, NCC launched a strategic review of its remaining Cyber business, including considering a sale of the company. However, on Thursday, NCC said it is ‘not in receipt of any approaches or in discussions with any party in relation to a potential sale of the company’, and it is ‘appropriately positioned’ for its next phase of growth.
NCC shares were down 1.6% to 139.00 pence early Thursday in London. The stock is down 15% over the past 12 months. The company has a market capitalisation of £392.9 million and is a FTSE 250 index constituent.
NCC swung to a pretax loss from continuing operations of £6.4 million in the half-year that ended March 31 from a profit of £1.9 million a year before, as revenue slipped 4.1% to £118.4 million from £123.5 million.
Operating profit, including both continuing and discontinued operations was £11.9 million in the first half, down from £20.0 million a year before. This consisted of a £5.2 million loss from the continuing Cyber operations, swung from a £5.2 million profit, and a £17.1 million profit from the disposed Escode business, up from £14.8 million.
Group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was £23.5 million, up 28% from £18.4 million a year before and in line with company expectations.
Looking ahead, NCC said it expects mid- to low-single-digit-percentage Cyber Security revenue growth for all of financial 2026, which ends on September 30.
Group adjusted Ebitda is expected to grow faster than revenue, giving a margin of 5.5% to 7.5%. NCC is targeting for this to grow to a mid-teens margin by the end of financial 2028.
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.