Light Science Technologies said trading accelerated sharply in July after two months of revenue of £2.15 million, leaving the AIM-listed engineering group with a committed forward order book of £3.09 million at the end of the month and signalling a “substantially stronger” second half.
Orders, acquisitions and the revenue picture
The company, which supplies passive fire protection materials, contract electronics and agricultural growing systems, reported that most of the committed orders are expected to be recognised as revenue before the year end. The recent acquisition of RLUK Injection made Light Science the exclusive supplier of Injectaclad, a fire-stopping material used in cavity barriers, to its installer network. More than ten installations are under way, and material orders remain to be placed on the majority of those projects — a source of potential revenue not yet reflected in the order book.
“The half [to 31 May] was transformational,” the chief executive said.
Those remarks came against an interim trading backdrop that was mixed. For the six months to 31 May the group reported revenue of £3.73 million, down from £5.06 million a year earlier. Gross margin narrowed to 30.5% from 36.3%, and the business swung to an adjusted operating loss of £0.69 million (adjusted pre-tax loss £0.80 million).
Cash, financing and divisional prospects
Light Science raised £6.6 million gross during the period (about £6.1 million net) to fund three acquisitions completed in April. Cash and undrawn facilities stood at £2.93 million at the end of July. Management said the passive fire protection division is expected to scale through the remainder of the financial year, improving margins and cash generation into 2027.
- Two-month revenue to 31 July: £2.15m
- Committed forward order book at 31 July: £3.09m
- Six months to 31 May revenue: £3.73m (previous year: £5.06m)
- Gross margin H1: 30.5% (previous year: 36.3%)
- Adjusted operating loss H1: £0.69m; adjusted pre-tax loss: £0.80m
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Two-month revenue (to 31 July) | £2.15m |
| Forward order book (31 July) | £3.09m |
| H1 revenue (to 31 May) | £3.73m |
| H1 gross margin | 30.5% |
| H1 adjusted operating loss | £0.69m |
| Cash and facilities (end July) | £2.93m |
Alongside the fire protection business, the contract electronics arm has added four clients which the company says could generate up to £1 million a year. The agritech division has won a £0.30 million university contract in Wales. Those contracts, together with Injectaclad roll-out, underpin management's optimism about the second half.
Regulatory timing and risks to the outlook
However, the group cautioned that the first half was affected by delays in its fire safety business owing to a bottleneck at the Building Safety Regulator, which signs off work on higher-risk buildings. That regulatory slow-down held back applications and therefore revenue recognition in the period. While the order book and recent trading suggest momentum, the pace at which projects convert into cash depends on regulatory approvals and installation scheduling.
Market observers will watch three variables closely: the rate at which the committed orders are recognised as revenue, the conversion of the more than ten ongoing Injectaclad installations into material orders, and whether margins recover as the passive fire protection division scales. The company’s recent fundraise provides short-term headroom, but sustained margin improvement will be necessary to convert sales momentum into durable cash generation.
The coming months will test whether the July uplift is the start of a durable recovery or a temporary acceleration as delayed projects move through the system. For investors and stakeholders, the crucial question is timing: how quickly regulatory bottlenecks clear and how promptly the new acquisitions and contracts translate into higher-margin, cash-generative sales.
