Losses widen for Chesterfield Special Cylinders as firm says higher defence budgets will drive up revenue
Sheffield-based Chesterfield Special Cylinders has seen its losses widen in the 26 weeks to the end of March, but said that higher global defence budgets are likely to drive up its revenue in the second half of the year.
The company posted a pre-tax loss of £2.1m for the period, up from losses of £1.5m in the same period a year prior.
This came alongside revenue of £5.4m, against £6.5m the previous year.
The company said, however, that it expected higher global defence spending to bring an increase in revenues up to 2027.
A statement from the firm issued alongside its results said: “The backdrop of geopolitical tensions and increasing global defence budgets support a strong outlook for submarine and surface ship newbuild programmes in the UK and overseas from FY27
“Defence revenue expected in the second half of the year is underpinned by a robust order book for overseas submarine and surface ship programmes.”
The firm posted revenue in its defence arm of £4.4m,
Defence revenue of £4.4 million (2024: £5.5 million) down from £5.5m the year prior. The company said this reflects the phasing of newbuild contract milestones and Integrity Management naval deployments.
It added that recent overseas defence contracts for submarine and surface ship programmes for the Australian, Canadian, US and Spanish navies underpin its defence outlook for the remainder of 2025 and 2026.
Speaking on the results, Chris Walters, chief executive of Chesterfield Special Cylinders Holdings, said: "We are pleased with the progress being made towards our 2028 targets, with recent strategically significant overseas defence contract awards and our first order for large-scale UK hydrogen storage systems.
“Record full-year revenue performance is anticipated for hydrogen and Integrity Management services, while strong order intake and order book coverage underpin second-half revenue expectations and a return to full-year Adjusted EBITDA profitability, in line with market expectations."
The company also reported revenue of £0.7m in its hydrogen arm, up from £0.6m the year prior.
During the period, it announced what it described as a “strategically significant” contract secured to supply large-scale hydrogen storage systems to the bp Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub project, with delivery planned for the first quarter of 2026.
The firm also announced a contract secured in the first quarter of 2025 to supply high-pressure storage systems to European hydrogen refuelling specialist, Atawey, for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Chesterfield Special Cylinders said it remained “well positioned” in the emerging market for pressurised hydrogen storage and transportation.
The company also posted revenue of £2.1m in its integrity management services division, up from £1.8m in the same period a year ago.
The company said the figure reelected the level of activity it had seen on major UK naval deployments. .