DroneShield shares advance on 2025 forecast
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More news: DroneShield shares climbed in morning trade after the counter-drone provider reported a bump in 2024 revenue and forecasted higher growth this year.
DroneShield shares were up 2.4% to 63 cents by 11:50am AEDT, having shed nearly 18% since the start of the month.
The company said they had a pipeline of $1.2 billion but that these sales were not assured.
DroneShield posts slower-than-expected revenue growth for 2024
The news: DroneShield reported slower-than-expected revenue growth in 2024, due to a number of pipeline projects taking longer to complete than expected.
However, the defence tech company said that strong revenue at the start of 2025 has signalled improved growth this calendar year.
The numbers: DroneShield reported 2024 revenue of $57.5 million, up from $54.1 million in 2023. The company said growth of the underling "flow business" was "significantly larger" than the headline growth figure of 6.3%.
DroneShield noted that it has a contracted backlog of $33.4 million, expected to be received in the first half of 2025.
Elsewhere, software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue climbed 100% in 2024 from $1.4 million to $2.8 million. Cash balance of $220.6 million as of 31 December was up $162.7 million from $57.9 million a year earlier.
The context: Sydney-based DroneShield said the Trump presidency in the US is expected to be an "overall positive" for the company. This was due to an anticipated additional investment into the US border security, defence and law enforcement, as well as fast tracking of counter-drone legislation, including enabling a greater number of government agencies to use counter-drone equipment.
DroneShield noted that the US expected to be a significant market for the company, accounting for around 70% of its 2023 and 2024 revenues.
The source: ASX announcement
