Renew Holdings FY25: record revenue, bigger order book, and a sharper engineering focus
Renew Holdings has posted another year of records. Revenue rose 5.6% to £1,116.1m and adjusted operating profit edged up to £72.1m. The order book hit an all-time high of £915m. The business is now a pureplay engineering services group after selling Walter Lilly and pushing deeper into regulated, long‑cycle infrastructure markets.
It was not all one-way traffic. Statutory profit before tax dipped 5.8% to £56.7m, margins softened by 20bps, and net cash reduced as Renew invested in acquisitions. Even so, the dividend is up 5.3% and management’s tone for FY26 is confident.
Key FY25 numbers investors should know
| Metric | FY25 | FY24 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group revenue | £1,116.1m | £1,057.0m | +5.6% |
| Adjusted operating profit | £72.1m | £70.9m | +1.7% |
| Operating profit (statutory) | £60.6m | £61.2m | -0.9% |
| Adjusted operating margin | 6.5% | 6.7% | -20bps |
| Profit before tax (statutory) | £56.7m | £60.2m | -5.8% |
| Adjusted earnings per share | 67.1p | 65.9p | +1.8% |
| Full year dividend | 20.0p | 19.0p | +5.3% |
| Pre-IFRS 16 net cash | £6.2m | £25.7m | -£19.5m |
| Order book | £915m | £889m | Record |
Quick take: positive on revenue, order book and dividend; more mixed on statutory PBT and margin. Organic growth for the year, excluding acquisitions, was disclosed at -2.5% due to rail headwinds early in the period.
Quality of earnings: what “adjusted” means here
Renew reports both statutory and adjusted figures. Adjusted numbers strip out amortisation of acquired intangibles and acquisition-related exceptional costs. That’s useful for tracking underlying performance, but do keep an eye on the statutory line and cash flow too.
In FY25, amortisation rose to £9.2m and acquisition costs were £2.3m, reflecting active M&A. Finance costs also increased to £4.6m from £1.8m, which fed through to the lower statutory PBT. Despite that, adjusted EPS nudged up 1.8% to 67.1p – a decent result in a year with sector-specific turbulence.
Cash, balance sheet and the new £140m RCF
Pre‑IFRS 16 net cash ended the year at £6.2m, down from £25.7m. That’s largely the result of the €59.0m (£49.3m) acquisition of Full Circle in October 2024. Operating cash generation remained strong, with £58.7m of net cash inflow from continuing operations.
Post period, Renew refinanced its revolving credit facility on improved terms: a £140m RCF committed to October 2029. That gives the Group flexibility to fund organic projects and a “compelling” M&A pipeline without stretching the balance sheet.
Strategy update: now a pureplay engineering services operator
Renew sold Walter Lilly in October 2024, tidying up the portfolio. Since then, it has doubled down on regulated maintenance and renewals – the non‑discretionary work that keeps the country’s infrastructure functioning. The stated backdrop is supportive: the Government’s “decade of renewal” strategy, with at least £725bn of long‑term funding through to 2034, according to the company.
End‑market momentum: where growth is coming from
Rail: recovering after a slow start to the year
Rail suffered deferrals and delays in renewals early on, but the business pivoted towards maintenance, broadened its client base, and delivered on complex projects like the Severn Tunnel and Estuary resilience works. CP7 runs to March 2029 with a 9% step-up in maintenance and renewal spend to £31.9bn. The message: lower risk, more diversified, better positioned for the remainder of CP7.
Water (AMP8): strongest position yet
Renew entered AMP8 with frameworks at 10 of the 12 largest combined water and wastewater companies, up from three at the start of AMP7. AMP8 is big: record total spend of £104bn over the period, with £45bn for new infrastructure versus £11bn in AMP7. The company flags strong pipeline visibility and increasing collaboration across its water brands.
Highways (RIS3): larger maintenance wallet ahead
Draft RIS3 (April 2026 to March 2031) points to a funding envelope of around £24.5bn, with renewals and capital maintenance expected to double to circa £8.5bn. Renew has been preparing, helped by the AGC partnership between AmcoGiffen and Carnell and the strategic Route One acquisition. An interim one‑year settlement to 2026 has already lifted maintenance and renewals spend by 18%.
Transmission & Distribution: Excalon ahead of plan; Emerald adds OHL skills
The 2024 Excalon acquisition opened up the RIIO-ED2 market, a £22.5bn five‑year cycle from April 2023. Management says Excalon exceeded expectations in FY25. Post‑period, Excalon acquired Emerald Power for up to £12.3m, adding overhead line capability across 11kV to 132kV. Transmission operators have committed c.£67bn to 2031, and management sees “unprecedented” investment in the next T period.
Onshore wind services: Full Circle integrated
Full Circle takes Renew into the fragmented European onshore wind O&M market. The integration is complete. FY25 included a one‑off wobble caused by the insolvency of Emergya Wind Technologies, which drove legal and bad debt costs of £1.2m. Even so, Full Circle contributed £29.5m of revenue and £3.2m of profit before tax from acquisition to year‑end, and the Group is growing Master Service Agreements and assessing bolt‑on deals.
Nuclear and Flood & Coastal: long‑dated visibility
Renew remains one of the largest M&E contractors at Sellafield and is expanding in new nuclear frameworks. The decommissioning programme is c.£4bn a year with a 100‑year profile, around 75% currently at Sellafield. In flood and coastal work, Government has signposted £7.9bn from 2026 to 2036 plus £2.65bn to protect 52,000 properties between 2024 and 2027. Renew is active across all five lots of the Environment Agency’s AOMR frameworks.
Dividend, dates and capital returns
The Board proposes a final dividend of 13.33p, taking the full‑year payout to 20.00p, up 5.3%. Subject to approval, the final dividend is scheduled for payment on 20 March 2026 to shareholders on the register on 13 February 2026 (ex‑dividend 12 February 2026).
Why this matters for investors
- Resilience proven: record revenue and a record order book despite sector headwinds and higher finance costs.
- Sharpened strategy: disposal of Walter Lilly and two energy‑focused acquisitions tilt the portfolio to regulated, high‑barrier markets.
- Visibility: long‑cycle frameworks across CP7, AMP8, RIS3 and RIIO underpin multi‑year workload.
- Firepower: a fresh £140m RCF to 2029 supports a “compelling” M&A pipeline and organic investment.
Balanced risks to watch in FY26
- Margin discipline: adjusted operating margin slipped to 6.5%. Execution and mix will matter, especially as activity ramps in highways and T&D.
- Rail timing: the shift to maintenance is helpful, but any renewed deferments would weigh on organic growth.
- Integration delivery: Emerald and Full Circle broaden capability – successful cross‑selling and MSAs are the test.
- Cash profile: net cash reduced after M&A; continued strong cash conversion will be key as investment steps up.
Josh’s view: a steady compounder doing what it says on the tin
This is classic Renew: steady compounding, disciplined M&A, and deeper roots in regulated maintenance markets. The slight margin squeeze and lower statutory PBT are the trade‑offs of investing for growth and absorbing higher financing and amortisation, but the underlying engines – water, highways, and power networks – look set for multi‑year expansion.
With a record £915m order book, a growing dividend, and a broadened energy footprint, FY26 starts with positive momentum. Execution against RIS3 mobilisation, AMP8 delivery, and T&D scaling are the big catalysts. On balance, these results keep the investment case intact and arguably strengthen it.
