Judges Scientific expects FY2026 earnings in line despite a difficult first half

What has Judges Scientific announced?

Judges Scientific has reported a significantly weaker first half, but management still expects full-year adjusted basic earnings per share to meet current market expectations of 202.8p.

The scientific instrument group faced several overlapping pressures during the six months ended 30 June 2026. These included the expected absence of a Geotek coring expedition, uncertainty surrounding US federal funding for scientific research, continued postponements to offshore wind projects and delays to China's new research and development tax exemption processes for scientific equipment.

These headwinds left first-half revenue 21% below the £70.2 million reported in H1 2025. Adjusted earnings per share for the period are expected to be between 38p and 42p.

That makes the second-half delivery requirement substantial. Judges Scientific is relying on orders being booked and shipped during Q3, alongside timely fulfilment of its existing order book.

Judges Scientific's key figures

Measure	H1 2026 update	Comparison
Revenue	Down 21%	H1 2025 revenue: £70.2 million
Order intake	Down 11%	H1 2025: up 4%
Q2 order intake	Broadly in line	Versus prior year
Order book	17.3 weeks	FY2025: 15.7 weeks
H1 2025 order book	17.4 weeks	Broadly unchanged year on year
Expected H1 adjusted earnings per share	38p-42p	Prior-year figure not disclosed
Cost reduction at underperforming businesses	£2 million	H1 cost base
FY2026 consensus adjusted basic earnings per share	202.8p	Board expects to deliver in line

Why revenue and orders fell

The decline is not down to one isolated problem.

Geotek did not have a coring expedition during the half. These expeditions can create meaningful but irregular revenue, so their timing can make comparisons between periods look particularly uneven.

US federal funding uncertainty also affected two quarters of sales and orders. In 2025, this issue only began affecting performance from the second quarter, making the H1 2026 comparison more demanding.

Elsewhere, postponed offshore wind projects continued to have a material effect. China's delays in finalising its new R&D tax exemption processes also held back demand for scientific equipment.

Revenue declined across every geographic region other than the UK, where it was flat. However, there was a more encouraging detail beneath the headline numbers. Excluding the previous coring expedition, Rest of World revenue grew by 9%, supported by semiconductor demand and Geotek services.

Signs of resilience beneath the weakness

Eight of the group's businesses delivered growth during the half. Management attributed this to internal growth initiatives and improving market conditions in areas including battery development and semiconductors.

That matters because it suggests the first-half decline was not universal across Judges Scientific's portfolio of 25 businesses. The group sells specialist scientific instruments into a range of niche global markets, so performance can vary considerably between subsidiaries and end markets.

The order book also remains relatively healthy at 17.3 weeks. This was higher than the 15.7 weeks reported at the end of 2025 and almost level with the 17.4 weeks recorded at H1 2025.

Order intake was down 11% overall, but the decline was concentrated in the first quarter. Second-quarter order intake was broadly in line with the prior year, indicating that the rate of deterioration did not continue throughout the half.

Cost reductions provide some protection

Judges Scientific reduced the first-half cost base of its underperforming businesses by £2 million.

Lower costs only partially offset the effect of weaker volumes, which explains the expected H1 adjusted earnings per share range of 38p to 42p. Even so, the savings should provide greater operational leverage if order conversion and shipments improve during the second half.

Management also reported solid progress at businesses facing the product-specific challenges highlighted in its March 2026 full-year results. The precise financial contribution from these improvements was not disclosed.

The full-year outlook should also benefit from increased Patent Box tax relief. Patent Box is a UK tax regime offering a lower corporation tax rate on qualifying profits generated from patented inventions. Judges Scientific expects greater benefits following its investments in innovation.

A heavily weighted second half

The central message is that FY2026 expectations remain intact, but delivery is back-end weighted.

The board's immediate priorities are to secure expected shippable orders during Q3 and fulfil the existing order book on time. In practical terms, a strong conversion of orders into revenue and profit will be needed after the weak first half.

The company pointed to four supports for its full-year outlook:

• A healthy order book, including backlog for 2027
• A lower cost base
• Improvements at businesses with product-specific challenges
• Increased Patent Box tax relief

Judges Scientific also described its financial position as solid and underpinned by good cash generation. No cash balance, net debt figure or cash conversion percentage was disclosed in this update.

Geotek expedition pushed back to at least 2028

There was a separate setback concerning Geotek's next coring expedition.

Judges Scientific had previously expected Geotek to sign a contract during H2 2026 for delivery in early 2027. The group now understands that this expedition will take place no earlier than 2028.

Importantly, current market expectations for 2027 already exclude all coring revenue. The delay therefore does not remove revenue included in the stated 2027 consensus adjusted basic earnings per share figure of 231.4p.

It does, however, push back the possibility of additional expedition-related revenue. It also reinforces the uneven nature of Geotek's coring activity, where contract timing can materially affect individual reporting periods.

What investors should watch next

The maintained FY2026 outlook is the main positive. The order book remains healthy, Q2 order intake stabilised against the prior year and eight businesses achieved growth despite difficult trading conditions.

The negatives are equally clear. Revenue fell sharply, first-half earnings are expected to represent only a modest part of the full-year consensus figure, and several external pressures remain unresolved. The Geotek expedition delay also removes a potential 2027 opportunity, even though it was not included in consensus forecasts.

Investors should focus on Q3 order bookings, shipment timing and whether the operational improvements at previously challenged businesses translate into stronger profits. The level of second-half dependence means execution will be particularly important.

Judges Scientific plans to publish its interim results on Wednesday 23 September 2026. Those figures should provide more detail on margins, cash generation, regional trading and the bridge between the difficult first half and the maintained full-year earnings expectation.