Improved financial performance for Telent
Telent, a provider of technology solutions to the UK and Ireland’s critical national infrastructure, reported a doubling of its operating profits for the year ending 31 March.
This increase was driven by continuous improvement initiatives across major long-term projects and successful completion of key milestones.
EBITDA from operating activities rose to £27.8 million, up from £14.0 million in the previous year.
The company generated £40.2 million in cash from operating activities.
Turnover slightly decreased to £461.5 million, down from £476.1 million, as the company refocused on more profitable projects.
Telent ended the year with a forward order book worth more than £400 million, reflecting the long-term nature of many of its contracts.
CEO’s remarks on growth and future opportunities
Telent’s CEO, Jo Gretton, commented on the company’s performance: “This was an important year for Telent as the initiatives we have been putting in place to improve our profitability and put the business on a sound footing for growth, have borne fruit.
“We have great opportunities to build on our strong position with existing customers, and develop new areas of activity, and that gives us great confidence about the future of the company.”
Telent supports clients across the UK and Ireland’s critical infrastructure, including Transport for London, emergency services, broadband networks, and traffic systems.
The company has maintained many of these customer relationships for decades.
Major project milestones achieved
Significant progress was made on major projects for Network Rail and National Highways.
The Traction Power Centralised Management System project for Network Rail involved new infrastructure and software for a new traction control power operating system.
Core Factory Acceptance Testing Product Approval was achieved in July 2023, with service entry at Raynes Park in April 2024.
This technology will roll out to 13 of 15 regions, covering the entire electrified rail network in England.
The Highways team migrated 37,000 services to the new National Roads Telecommunications Service network, connecting roadside cameras, signs, signals, and traffic monitoring systems to National Highways Control Centres.
The migration was completed without service degradation.
Telent also replaced 6,065 roadside technology assets, completing the upgrade of 11,880 devices across the network, allowing National Highways to retire their legacy network.
Other notable projects and developments
Telent collaborated with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on a new network connecting 165 remote radio sites around the UK coastline, replacing legacy infrastructure with full-fibre and microwave technology.
This network facilitates communications between vessels and HM Coastguard Operation Centres.
The company was selected for the Greater Manchester One Network project, creating faster and more resilient data connections to over 1,300 public sites across the city-region.
This includes schools, community centres, fire stations, and traffic control signals.
In higher education, Telent is working on a core IT network upgrade for the University of Bristol, with design work progressing well and a Proof of Concept in testing.
The new network will be built and rolled out during FY25.
Defence market and future projects
Telent has seen significant business development in the defence market, joining various procurement frameworks and partnering with key entities.
This market is identified as a strategic growth area for the company.
Work on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset continues, involving numerous technologies and skills from across Telent and its partners.
This has led to a consultancy contract for the next planned nuclear power station, Sizewell C, with design work expected to start later this year.
Telent also continued its successful partnership with Openreach, delivering all commitments and mobilising new workstreams in the Fibre to the Premises connections space.
This reinforces Telent’s reputation as a reliable partner for large-scale projects.