FY25 in focus: robust growth, bigger profits, and cash to deploy
Synectics has posted a strong set of final results for the year ended 30 November 2025. Revenue rose 22.0% to £68.1 million, helped by the successful delivery of a large non-recurring gaming contract in South-East Asia. Adjusted EBITDA – a proxy for cash profit before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and one-off items – jumped 36.1% to £8.5 million, while adjusted diluted EPS climbed to 28.0p.
The balance sheet is in excellent shape: year-end cash hit a record £14.1 million with no bank debt. The Board has proposed a higher final dividend of 2.8p per share, taking the total for FY25 up 11.1% to 5.0p.
| Headline metrics | FY25 | FY24 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £68.1 million | £55.8 million | +22.0% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £8.5 million | £6.3 million | +36.1% |
| Adjusted diluted EPS | 28.0p | 21.7p | +29% |
| Cash (no bank debt) | £14.1 million | £9.6 million | Record high |
| Order book (30 Nov) | £26.5 million | £38.5 million | Lower (contract completed) |
| Total dividend | 5.0p | 4.5p | +11.1% |
Two quick definitions for newer investors: the order book is contracted work not yet delivered; adjusted measures exclude items the company deems non-underlying, such as ERP implementation and restructuring costs (£0.65 million this year).
What drove the year: big project delivery and steady core demand
Synectic Systems: gaming-led surge, solid margins
Division revenue increased 21% to £43.4 million, primarily from a major gaming deployment that contributed about £12 million. Gross margin improved to 50.3% and adjusted EBITDA rose to £9.1 million, with a margin of 21.1%.
- Leisure and hospitality revenue jumped 83% to £24.0 million.
- Energy revenue fell 16% to £11.1 million as certain oil and gas projects slipped into 2026; first wins in renewables were secured.
- The business secured a five-year extension with the major casino customer (minimum US$4.8 million) and delivered further resort projects worth $3 million in the Philippines and North America.
- APAC margins benefited from the major project; market presence in the Middle East is building with a UAE partner and SIRA certification nearing completion.
Ocular: transport and infrastructure growth, mixed margin
Ocular revenue rose 24% to £26.4 million, driven by transport and critical infrastructure. Gross margin dipped to 27.7% due to several lower-margin infrastructure projects; adjusted EBITDA was £2.3 million with an 8.6% margin.
- Transport revenue grew 25% to £12.8 million, supported by IP upgrades and connected fleet demand.
- Notable wins included a five-year contract with Bus Éireann and a Stagecoach pilot plus a five-year framework extension.
- Critical infrastructure revenue increased 57% to £8.2 million, including large-scale projects with National Grid and a contract with West Midlands Police.
Cash, dividends and the order book: strength with a caveat
Operating cash generation remained healthy, with free cash inflow of £7.7 million. The Board is sticking with a progressive dividend, proposing 2.8p final (total 5.0p).
The order book at year-end was £26.5 million, down from £38.5 million. Management says the drop mainly reflects completion of the big gaming contract, with some additional timing delays in oil and gas approvals. Worth noting: one customer represented £14.3 million of FY25 revenue, a reminder of concentration risk when large projects land in the P&L and then roll off the order book.
The transformation plan: building a scalable, product-led Synectics
FY25 wasn’t just about delivery; it also set the stage for how Synectics intends to grow more predictably. The company is leaning into a product-led, partner-enabled model guided by five priorities: People, Product, Partner-led growth, market Presence, and Productivity.
What’s changing and why it matters
- Product simplification: by end-FY26, average installation time for the Synergy platform is targeted to drop from up to 20 days to 4.5 days. That should make deployments faster, cheaper, and far easier for partners to scale.
- Hardware re-engineering: the COEX camera range is being redesigned to cut costs and prepare a next-gen line for evolving energy-market needs.
- Partner ecosystem: an expanded global systems integrator programme launched in FY25; the technology partner network is in its early stages. The aim is to sell and deliver more through partners rather than growing headcount at the same rate.
- Commercial discipline: clearer sector focus, stronger account planning, and a new customer success function to feed real-world insight into the roadmap.
- Security credentials: Synergy is in the final stages of NPSA’s Cyber Assurance process, with SIRA certification in the UAE close – both helpful when bidding for highly regulated work.
If the plan delivers, Synectics should see higher software mix, more recurring revenue, faster delivery, and better operating leverage – all supportive of margin resilience over time.
Outlook: an investment year in FY26, then acceleration
Management sets clear expectations: FY26 will be a “disciplined transition” year. Revenue is expected to be around 10% lower than FY25, because the big gaming contract does not repeat. EBITDA margins are expected to be mid-single-digit as Synectics invests about £3.3 million of cash in transformation initiatives (around £0.8 million of that hits adjusted EBITDA).
From FY27, the company expects double-digit revenue growth and EBITDA above normalised FY25 levels (once the one-off contract is excluded), with further acceleration in both revenue and margins in FY28 as the strategy beds in.
My take: quality progress, with near-term lumps and bumps
What I like
- Cash-rich, debt-free balance sheet provides firepower to invest and keep paying a growing dividend.
- Strong execution evidenced by on-time delivery of a complex, mission-critical gaming project and a multi-year extension with the same customer.
- Clear, quantified transformation levers (notably Synergy deployment time) that should improve scalability and margins.
- Good traction in growth areas – transport upgrades, critical infrastructure, renewables foothold, and a growing Middle East presence.
What to watch
- Order book decline and customer concentration underline the risk of earnings volatility when large projects roll off.
- Energy market timing remains choppy; several oil and gas projects slipped into 2026.
- Margin pressure at Ocular from lower-margin projects shows the importance of mix and execution.
- Execution risk: the shift to a partner-led, product-centric model needs sustained delivery to hit the FY27-FY28 targets.
Net-net, these results show a business with competitive tech, improving commercial discipline and a stronger financial base. FY26 will likely look softer on the top line and margins by design, but if the deployment, partner and product initiatives hit their marks, Synectics should come out of the transition with better visibility, higher-quality earnings and more scalable growth.
Divisional and sector snapshots
| Synectic Systems | Ocular | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £43.4 million (+21%) | £26.4 million (+24%) |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £9.1 million (21.1% margin) | £2.3 million (8.6% margin) |
| Gross margin | 50.3% | 27.7% |
| Sector revenue (Group) | FY25 |
|---|---|
| Leisure & Hospitality | £25.0 million |
| Transport | £15.5 million |
| Critical Infrastructure | £9.8 million |
| Energy | £11.1 million |
| Public Space | £6.8 million |
Bottom line
Strong FY25 delivery, record cash and a bigger dividend set a solid platform. Expect a dip in FY26 as investment ramps up and last year’s one-off contract drops out, but the roadmap points to double-digit growth and stronger EBITDA from FY27. For investors comfortable with a transition year, Synectics looks to be moving in the right direction.
