React Group’s interim results for the six months to 31 March 2026 show a business that is moving in the right direction, even if it is not yet producing a clean statutory profit. Revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA all moved higher, cash generation improved sharply, and the company says trading in the second half has started encouragingly.
My read is this: these are solid, credible numbers rather than explosive ones. For a support services business operating in a steady but not especially generous market, that matters. REACT looks to be getting better at choosing profitable work, integrating acquisitions properly, and turning activity into cash.
React Group H1 2026 results: the key numbers retail investors need to know
| Metric | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £13.2 million | £12.1 million | Up 9% |
| Gross profit | £4.3 million | £3.9 million | Up 10% |
| Gross margin | 32.4% | 32.0% | Up 0.4 percentage points |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £1.5 million | £1.4 million | Up 7% |
| Operating profit/(loss) | £63,000 | (£116,000) | Improved |
| Loss for the period | (£72,000) | (£280,000) | Improved |
| Free cash flow | £824,000 | £204,000 | Up strongly |
| Cash at period end | £1.1 million | £2.8 million | Down |
| Net debt | £2.5 million | £1.9 million | Up |
| Basic loss per share | (0.31p) | (1.18p) | Improved |
That combination tells a fairly straightforward story. The business is growing, margins are edging up, and the underlying earnings line is improving. It is still loss-making on a statutory basis, but the loss is much smaller than last year.
Why React Group’s recurring revenue above 85% is a big deal
One of the most important lines in the release is that recurring and repeat revenue remained above 85%. In plain English, most of REACT’s sales are not one-off jobs. They come from existing customer relationships and repeat work, which gives the company better visibility over future trading.
For retail investors, that matters because it lowers risk. Businesses with highly repeatable revenue tend to be more resilient when the wider economy gets choppy, and REACT says demand for essential reactive and planned services has remained steady.
The company also sounds more disciplined commercially. Management keeps stressing a “gross profit led” approach, which means focusing on work that actually pays rather than chasing revenue for its own sake. That is exactly what you want to hear from a support services group, because low-margin growth can look good in a headline and still destroy value underneath.
24hr Aquaflow Services and LaddersFree are driving the React Group growth story
The standout operational contributor appears to be 24hr Aquaflow Services, the recently acquired commercial drainage and plumbing business. Management says it delivered a strong performance again in the first half, which suggests the acquisition is doing what it was supposed to do.
That is important because acquisitions only create value if they integrate well and add capability, not just revenue. Here, REACT says Aquaflow is broadening its technical offering in drainage, plumbing, pump maintenance and wastewater management, while also creating cross-sell and upsell opportunities across the wider group.
LaddersFree is the other big point of interest. Project Sparkle is now fully live there, giving the business real-time operational visibility through a digital platform. The company has also made a modest further investment in a customer portal, which sounds sensible rather than reckless.
This is the sort of update that can sound dry, but it matters. Better systems can improve scheduling, billing, transparency and customer retention. In service businesses, operational control often ends up feeding directly into margins and cash flow.
React Group cash flow improves sharply, but cash is lower and net debt is higher
This is where the picture gets more balanced. The good news is that free cash flow rose to £824,000 from £204,000, and net cash inflow from operations was £1.3 million versus £667,000 a year earlier. That is a strong improvement and probably one of the most encouraging features of the update.
The less flattering bit is the balance sheet direction over the past year. Cash at period end was £1.1 million, down from £2.8 million, while net debt increased to £2.5 million from £1.9 million.
Management says that reflects planned investment in technology, sales capability and deferred consideration payments linked to acquisitions. That explanation is plausible, and the board says debt remains within comfortable levels, but investors should still keep an eye on it. Better profits are useful, but cash and debt usually tell you how much room a business really has.
The balance sheet itself looks stable enough in this update. Total equity was £10.0 million and total liabilities were £9.6 million at 31 March 2026. There is no sign in this RNS of immediate financial stress, but this is not a debt-free story either.
React Group profitability is improving, but amortisation still clouds the statutory numbers
Adjusted EBITDA rose to £1.5 million from £1.4 million. EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and “adjusted” means management excludes certain items such as exceptional costs and share-based payments.
That is useful as a measure of underlying trading, but it is not the whole picture. REACT still reported a statutory loss of £72,000, largely because amortisation was £962,000 and finance costs were £154,000. Amortisation is an accounting charge linked to acquired intangible assets, so this is one of those cases where acquisitions help growth but also weigh on reported earnings.
My take is that investors should watch both lines. The adjusted EBITDA improvement is positive and shows the core business is moving forward. But until statutory profit becomes more consistently positive, some investors will remain cautious, and fairly so.
React Group outlook for FY26: steady market, better execution, but no heroics
The outlook statement is constructive without getting carried away. Demand for essential services remains resilient, early second half activity has been encouraging, and the board says the overall direction of travel is positive.
There are still some obvious friction points. Decision cycles for higher value contracts remain extended, and some customers are under pressure from higher labour costs, statutory changes and wider economic factors. In other words, this is not a booming market.
What REACT is saying, though, is that it does not need a perfect market to make progress. The group believes stronger systems, better commercial discipline, cross-selling opportunities and a more diversified service mix can keep the business moving ahead under its own steam. That is a healthy message.
What React Group shareholders should watch after these interim results
- Whether adjusted EBITDA keeps growing in the second half.
- Whether statutory profit can turn sustainably positive.
- Whether free cash flow stays strong.
- Whether net debt starts to ease after the recent investment and acquisition-related outflows.
- How much growth comes from cross-selling between divisions, especially around 24hr Aquaflow Services and LaddersFree.
Overall, I would call this a positive H1 update from React Group. Not flashy, not transformational overnight, but positive. The business looks better organised, more selective, more digital and more cash-aware than it did before, which is often how decent small-cap recoveries are built.
The main caveat is simple: debt is a bit higher, cash is lower, and the statutory profit line is not there yet. But if the company can keep growing revenue at sensible margins, convert that into cash, and make the most of its cross-sell opportunities, these interim results could prove to be another steady step in the right direction.
