Flowtech Fluidpower revenue rises 23.7% as acquisitions strengthen growth

Flowtech Fluidpower PLC has delivered a solid first-half trading update, with organic growth supported by a series of acquisitions and market share gains across its three geographical regions.

Revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2026 rose 23.7% to £70.4 million, compared with £56.9 million a year earlier. Excluding acquisitions, like-for-like revenue increased by 13.2% to £63.6 million.

That is an encouraging rate of growth against what management continues to describe as a challenging market. However, investors will have to wait until September for the profit, margin and cash flow details needed to judge the quality of that revenue growth properly.

Flowtech Fluidpower's key first-half figures

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Group revenue	£70.4 million	£56.9 million	23.7%
Revenue excluding acquisitions	£63.6 million	£56.1 million	13.2%
Great Britain revenue	£48.2 million	£41.7 million	15.6%
Ireland revenue	£12.2 million	£10.2 million	20.7%
Benelux revenue	£10.0 million	£5.0 million	99.0%
Pre-IFRS 16 net debt	£16.5 million	£18.5 million	Down £2.0 million

The reported growth was broad rather than dependent on one region. Great Britain remained the largest operation and grew revenue by 15.6%, while Ireland advanced 20.7%.

Benelux revenue almost doubled to £10.0 million, although acquisitions were responsible for most of that increase. Excluding acquisitions, Benelux growth was 1.1%, compared with 12.8% in Great Britain and 20.7% in Ireland.

This distinction matters. The headline Benelux number looks spectacular, but the underlying regional performance was much more modest. Across the group, though, 13.2% like-for-like growth suggests the existing business also made meaningful progress.

Acquisitions are adding scale quickly

Flowtech supplies hydraulic, pneumatic and process products, alongside engineering services and projects. Hydraulic and pneumatic systems use pressurised liquids or gases to power and control industrial equipment.

The group has been building its position through acquisitions, and management says integration is progressing well.

Thorite is now fully embedded, while further strategic and operational progress has been made at Allswage and Thomas Group. Q Plus, acquired in February 2026, has performed ahead of expectations and is integrating ahead of plan.

Helipebs, acquired in June, has already secured more than £2 million of new orders following completion. That is an early indication of commercial momentum, although investors do not yet know the profitability or delivery timetable attached to those orders.

Flowtech says its five recent acquisitions cost approximately £6 million in total and are expected to contribute approximately £30 million of annualised revenue and more than £3 million of annualised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA.

Those figures make the acquisition programme an important part of the investment case. Management also sees opportunities to cross-sell products, reach new customers and regions, and secure procurement savings. The challenge will be converting those opportunities into sustainable profit and cash without allowing integration complexity to rise.

Infrastructure work has shifted into the second half

The first-half revenue figure did not include the originally anticipated contribution from two major bridge infrastructure projects. More of this activity is now expected during the second half.

This timing shift creates both opportunity and risk. It gives Flowtech a potential source of stronger second-half revenue and cash generation, but it also places greater weight on project delivery during the remainder of the year.

Management enters the period with a sales pipeline and forward order book supported by new customer contracts and additional supplier agreements. It expects these factors, together with operational improvement initiatives, to produce a stronger second-half performance.

The company continues to trade in line with market expectations for the year ending 31 December 2026. The expectations compiled before the update were:

Full-year market expectation	2026
Revenue	£136.8 million
Underlying EBITDA	£10.2 million
Net debt excluding IFRS 16 leases	£11.3 million

Flowtech generated £70.4 million of revenue in the first half, but investors should not assume a simple doubling of that number. Acquisition timing, infrastructure project schedules and the group's expectation of a stronger second half all affect the comparison.

Debt has improved year on year, but rose from December

Pre-IFRS 16 net debt stood at £16.5 million on 30 June 2026, down from £18.5 million a year earlier but above the £15.2 million reported at the end of 2025. IFRS 16 is the accounting standard that brings most lease obligations onto the balance sheet, and Flowtech's stated net debt excludes those lease liabilities.

The group had £8.5 million of available headroom under its £25 million committed banking facilities, which run until 2029.

Management expects net debt to reduce materially by the year end. It anticipates strong second-half cash generation from earnings growth, cash receipts from major infrastructure projects and the normal seasonal unwinding of working capital.

That forecast is important. Acquisitions can boost revenue and EBITDA, but shareholders will also want evidence that the enlarged group is converting earnings into cash and reducing leverage. The full-year market expectation of £11.3 million net debt implies a sizeable second-half reduction from June's level.

Supply pressures remain a live risk

Flowtech has faced supply chain disruption and inflationary pressure resulting from the Middle East conflict. The group says timely commercial and operational action helped manage pressure on margins while maintaining product availability and customer service.

The wording is reassuring, but no first-half profit or margin figures were disclosed in this update. It is therefore not yet possible to see the extent of the pressure or how effectively it was offset.

Management also expects wider market conditions to remain challenging. Alongside project timing and acquisition integration, that makes margins one of the main figures to watch when the full interim results arrive.

Digital investment is gaining traction

Flowtech's new UK website and e-commerce platform launched during the third quarter of 2025. The company reports encouraging increases in customer engagement, online traffic and revenue growth, although it has not disclosed supporting figures.

The platform is scheduled to roll out across Ireland and Benelux during the third quarter of 2026. Management believes this can improve the customer proposition and support future organic growth.

Digital progress forms one of four strategic sales growth levers, alongside product and service expansion, engineering projects and further acquisition opportunities. The group is also increasing its exposure to infrastructure, defence and transportation.

What investors should watch in September

The update contains a credible mix of organic and acquired growth. Like-for-like revenue rose at a double-digit rate, acquisitions are integrating well, and Helipebs has made a promising start.

The less comfortable points are the reliance on a stronger second half, the delayed contribution from two bridge projects and the lack of disclosed first-half profitability. Net debt also needs to fall substantially if Flowtech is to meet the compiled year-end market expectation.

The next test comes when Flowtech publishes its unaudited interim results on 8 September 2026. Investors should focus on margins, EBITDA, cash conversion, project delivery and evidence that acquisition synergies are moving beyond early integration progress.

The company will also hold a live investor presentation at 10.00am that day. Full details are available in the original company announcement.