Hunting PLC (LSE: HTG), the precision engineering group, today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2026.
Commenting on the results Jim Johnson, Chief Executive, said:
"Today's results demonstrate the benefits of the transformation of Hunting's portfolio and our ability to capitalise on the structural growth opportunities in the end-markets we serve. In particular, the strong margins delivered from our Subsea product group, following our strategic repositioning in this area over the past seven years, are strengthening the quality of our earnings into the long-term, a key deliverable of our 2030 strategic ambition. We have also seen encouraging momentum in our Perforating Systems product group, as our technology offering continues to be embraced by the industry, with record international sales supporting the Group's overall results.
"The second half of the year will be driven by continued progress in these areas, alongside improved results from our OCTG and Advanced Manufacturing product groups.
"Hunting remains well positioned to capture the growth opportunities emerging across the energy industry around the world. Whilst current instability in the Middle East has caused some delays to tendering, we expect activity in the region to rapidly recover once stability returns, supporting our confidence in our medium-term growth prospects for the region. Elsewhere, AI-driven investment is driving power demand growth in North America, while activity is rising across South America and West Africa as governments around the world increasingly focus on energy security and sovereign capabilities."
Financial Highlights
Financial Performance measures as defined by the Group
H1 2026 | H1 2025 | |
$m | $m | |
Revenue | 497.0 | 528.6 |
Non-oil and gas revenue | 38.0 | 37.7 |
EBITDA* | 62.1 | 70.2 |
EBITDA margin* | 12% | 13% |
Adjusting items** | 0.3 | 13.1 |
Adjusted profit before tax** | 34.5 | 43.7 |
Adjusted diluted earnings per share** | 15.2c | 19.6c |
Sales order book* | 386.5 | 451.5 |
Free cash flow* | (27.8) | 66.2 |
Working capital to revenue ratio* | 37% | 34% |
Total cash and bank (borrowings)* | (19.0) | 79.3 |
Net cash (debt)* | (51.4) | 44.7 |
Net assets | 863.1 | 912.3 |
ROCE* | 9.1% | 10.5% |
Interim dividend declared | 7.0c | 6.2c |
*Non-GAAP measure, please see pages 40 to 46 of the 2026 Half Year Report | ||
**Adjusted profit measures, recorded before items agreed to be one-off and excluded by the Audit and Risk Committee | ||
Financial Performance measures as derived from IFRS
H1 2026 | H1 2025 | |
$m | $m | |
Operating profit | 39.7 | 36.2 |
Profit before tax | 34.2 | 30.6 |
Diluted earnings per share | 15.0c | 12.1c |
Net cash (outflow) inflow from operating activities | (5.4) | 90.8 |
The Group's Perforating Systems and Subsea product groups performed well, delivering notable increases in revenue year-on-year due to strong organic growth within our established product groups, offset by lower results from the OCTG, Advanced Manufacturing and Other Manufacturing product groups. Revenue in H1 2026 declined overall by 6% to $497.0m compared with the prior period, while EBITDA fell by 12% in the period to $62.1m from $70.2m in H1 2025. This was due to the absence of orders completed for Kuwait Oil Company ("KOC") in H1 2025, which did not recur in H1 2026, together with slower activity in the Advanced Manufacturing product group.
Interim Dividend
An interim dividend of 7.0 cents per share (H1 2025 6.2 cents) has been declared. The dividend will be paid in Sterling on 30 October 2026, with the Sterling value of the dividend payable per share fixed and announced approximately two weeks prior to the payment date, based on the average spot exchange rate over the three business days preceding the announcement date. The dividend will be paid to those shareholders on the register at the close of business on 2 October 2026, with an ex-dividend date of 1 October 2026.
Retirement of Chief Executive
On 1 June 2026, the Company announced that Jim Johnson, Chief Executive, had given notice of his intention to retire as a Director of the Company. The Nomination Committee has appointed an international search firm to support the search for a new Chief Executive, and a further update will be provided at the appropriate time.
Strategic Highlights
$63.5m of new titanium stress joint orders secured for offshore Guyana
In April 2026, Hunting announced that it had secured new orders totalling $63.5m for its titanium stress joint offering for ExxonMobil in Guyana, to be delivered by 2027.
Step change in performance of Subsea Technologies operating segment
The strong earnings performance and heightened margins in the Subsea Technologies operating segment were driven primarily by recent order momentum and improved trading conditions, together with a good contribution from Flexible Engineered Solutions, acquired in June 2025.
Strong performance in the Perforating Systems product group
In the period, a material improvement in the performance of the Perforating Systems product group was recorded, with further market share gains secured across North America, supported by continued growth in international sales, particularly into Australia, Argentina, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Progress with Organic Oil Recovery ("OOR") commercialisation
The Group continues to make encouraging progress in the commercialisation of its OOR technology, with a number of clients sampling or field testing the OOR technology and strong well test results reported by a US operator; a master service agreement was executed with a customer in Brazil in Q2, with initial injections to commence in H2; and positive well test data reported by customers operating in North America and the North Sea.
$15m of cost reductions planned by the end of 2027
In March 2026, the Group announced a further cost cutting programme to increase efficiencies. Shared service functions have been initiated in Europe and North America to save back-office costs. The new programme will also incorporate a review of the Group's SG&A costs, with cost savings on track to be delivered by 2027.
EMEA restructuring
The Group's planned restructuring of its EMEA operating segment is near completion, with facilities in the Netherlands and Norway closed and the Fordoun, UK facility to be closed in September. Annualised savings of c.$11m have been captured through these initiatives, which will return the EMEA operating segment to profitability from H2 2026.
Capital allocation strategy remains unchanged
M&A In line with the Hunting 2030 Strategy, management continues to assess acquisitions, with a targeted pipeline of transactions under review during the period. Subsea and intelligent well completion businesses remain a particular area of focus for the Group.
Dividend The Board is declaring an interim dividend of 7.0 cents per share (H1 2025 6.2 cents), which represents a 13% increase over the interim dividend paid in 2025. The Directors also project that dividend distributions will continue to rise at 13% per annum through to the end of the decade, consistent with our ambition of annual increases of at least 10% published at the Group's Capital Markets Day in 2023.
Share buyback programme the Group announced a second buyback programme in March 2026. The $40m programme is underway and is due to be completed by March 2028. By this point, the Company will have returned $100m to shareholders through two buyback programmes.
H1 2026 investment in working capital anticipated to unwind in H2
In H1 2026, the Group recorded a $58.0m working capital outflow compared with a $25.8m inflow in H1 2025, driven by forward material purchases within the Hunting Titan and Subsea Technologies operating segments, in addition to an increase in receivables balances within both these operating segments, reflecting recognised revenue in the period.
Combination of EMEA and Asia Pacific operating segments
Following completion of the restructuring of the EMEA operating segment, the Directors announced in April 2026 that the EMEA and Asia Pacific operating segments would be combined to form an International operating segment from January 2027 to better align the business with customer requirements and improve our commercial offering.
Trading Outlook
In North America, activity levels are expected to increase steadily as new data centres and AI-driven hyper-scalers accelerate demand for energy and power.
Across South America, onshore and offshore activity is projected to continue growing. Unconventional resource development in Argentina continues to accelerate, while new offshore projects in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname will require new FPSO builds and high-performance equipment, creating significant opportunities for Hunting's enlarged Subsea offering.
In West Africa, emerging opportunities in Angola and Namibia support continued growth in offshore/deepwater activity beyond the end of the decade.
In India, the Group expects good growth from its joint venture, in addition to its planned new facility on the east coast of India.
Across Asia Pacific, new drilling activity is expected to accelerate as operators seek to mitigate potential future supply disruptions such as those experienced during the reporting period.
The Group previously highlighted the potential for near-term volatility in the Middle East due to the ongoing and evolving conflict and this remains the case. Linked to this, Kuwait Oil Company ("KOC") has provided a verbal indication to all vendors that it will now re-run the OCTG tender process, which was originally issued in April 2026. An accelerated tender process is now expected to be re-issued during Q3 2026, with the result announced within a month of issuance. Any new contracts awarded will not be recognised until 2027. Hunting has a strong relationship with KOC that is built on more than six years of technical collaboration and supply-chain qualification. Therefore, the Directors continue to believe that Hunting remains well-placed to secure further orders from KOC and other tenders underway across the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
As previously guided, Hunting's earnings profile for 2026 will be weighted towards the second half. The KOC tender process delay will have an impact of c.$10m on 2026 EBITDA, resulting in a revised 2026 EBITDA guidance range of $138-141m, slightly below previous guidance. Projected year-end total cash and bank position is broadly unchanged at c.$50-$60m as working capital investments in H1 unwind.
The Directors anticipate continued year-on-year growth into 2027 given Hunting's diversified portfolio. Dependent on the timing and outcome of the KOC tender, it will have a maximum adverse impact of c.$10m on current 2027 EBITDA consensus1
The Directors expect activity in the Middle East to rapidly recover once the conflict is resolved and regional stability returns, enabling production to be restored and suspended projects to be resumed.
Overall, the Directors remain positive on the outlook for both the wider industry and the Group, with Hunting's portfolio well-positioned for strong short- to medium-term growth.
| 1) | Hunting 2027 EBITDA consensus prior to the release of this announcement $165m, source: Bloomberg |
Group Results Narrative
For access to narrative on the Group's results for the for the six months ended 30 June 2026 please click on the following link.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5793R_1-2026-8-20.pdf
Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts
For access to the Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts for please click on the following link.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5793R_2-2026-8-20.pdf
Analyst Briefing and Webcast
Hunting PLC will host a webcast at 8:30a.m. BST. The live webcast can be accessed by copying and pasting the following link into your browser:
https://brrmedia.news/HTG_HY26
Analysts and investors wishing to participate in a Q&A session can do so by submitting questions via the chat function of the webcast and these will be addressed by management during the live webcast.
About Hunting PLC
Hunting is a global, precision engineering group that provides precision-manufactured equipment and premium services, which add value for our customers. Established in 1874, it is a listed public company, quoted on the London Stock Exchange in the Equity Shares in Commercial Companies ("ESCC") category. The Company maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As well as the United Kingdom, the Company has operations in China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.
The Group reports in US dollars across five operating segments: Hunting Titan; North America; Subsea Technologies; Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"); and Asia Pacific.
The Group also reports revenue and EBITDA financial metrics based on five product groups: OCTG; Perforating Systems; Subsea; Advanced Manufacturing; and Other Manufacturing.
Hunting PLC's Legal Entity Identifier is 2138008S5FL78ITZRN66.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260820414662/en/
Contacts:
For further information please contact:
Hunting PLC
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7321 0123
Jim Johnson, Chief Executive
Bruce Ferguson, Finance Director
Sodali Co
Tel: +44 (0) 79 3535 1934
James White
Tilly Abraham
or
lon.IR@hunting-intl.com
