Vianet Group Delivers Strong Full-Year Results with Growing Recurring Revenue, Net Cash Position and Dividend Hike

Vianet Group’s full-year results were solid rather than spectacular, but for many retail investors that is not a criticism. This was a year of better quality revenues, improving cash, a move into net cash, and a much larger dividend. For an AIM company built around data, payments and software-like recurring income, that is a pretty decent mix.

The headline numbers tell the story. Revenue edged up, profitability held firm, hospitality did the heavy lifting, US losses narrowed, and the balance sheet got stronger. That matters because companies with recurring revenue and cash in the bank usually have more room to invest, ride out bumps and reward shareholders.

Vianet full-year results 2026: the key numbers that matter to investors

Metric	FY2026	FY2025
Group revenue	£15.50 million	£15.27 million
Recurring revenue	£13.60 million	£13.17 million
Recurring revenue as % of group revenue	88%	86%
Gross margin	68%	68%
Adjusted EBITA	£3.61 million	£3.59 million
Year-end cash	£3.40 million	£2.78 million
Net cash / (debt)	£0.44 million	(£0.38 million)
Total dividend per share	2.40p	1.30p
Basic earnings per share	1.43p	2.92p

My read is that this is a good quality set of results. Not a high-growth blowout, but a clear sign the business is becoming more predictable and more cash generative. In smaller companies, that often counts for more than chasing flashy top-line growth.

Recurring revenue growth at Vianet is the real headline, not the 1.5% sales rise

Group revenue rose by 1.5% to £15.50 million, which on its own does not look especially exciting. The better figure is recurring revenue – income that repeats rather than depending on one-off sales – which increased to £13.60 million and now makes up 88% of total revenue, up from 86%.

That is important because recurring revenue tends to be higher quality. It improves visibility, supports margins and usually makes earnings less volatile. Vianet also kept gross margin at 68%, which suggests the business model remains resilient even without a big surge in sales.

Adjusted EBITA rose slightly to £3.61 million from £3.59 million. EBITA means earnings before interest, tax and amortisation, with Vianet also adjusting for exceptional items and share-based payments. In plain English, management is saying the underlying trading performance was steady to slightly better.

That said, statutory profit was weaker. Profit for the year fell to £410,000 from £857,000, while basic earnings per share dropped to 1.43p from 2.92p. The gap between adjusted and statutory numbers matters, and here it was affected by £470,000 of exceptional items plus £2.245 million of intangible asset amortisation.

Hospitality growth offset softer smart machines trading in unattended retail

The strongest part of the business was Smart Zones, Vianet’s hospitality arm. Revenue there climbed 6.4% to £9.59 million and operating profit improved 7.7% to £4.51 million. That is a strong result, especially given ongoing pub closures in the UK.

Vianet completed 448 new site installations, won 8 new contracts and 4 long-term renewals, and kept recurring revenue at 92% of divisional turnover. That mix dipped from 94% last year, but management says that reflects higher new installation activity rather than weakness. I would agree – new installs can be a healthy sign if they convert into future subscription income.

Smart Machines was more mixed. Divisional revenue fell to £5.90 million from £6.25 million, and adjusted operating profit slipped to £2.03 million from £2.13 million. The company blames customer estate rationalisation linked to the industry-wide 3G to 4G LTE migration, which sounds reasonable and fits the wider sector backdrop described in the RNS.

Even there, the quality of revenue improved. Recurring income rose to 81% of divisional revenue from 75%, 99 new contracts were secured, and 8 major renewals were completed. Vianet also deployed 4,637 new cashless devices, including 2,520 3G upgrades, taking the connected device base to around 36,133.

So the negative is clear: Smart Machines had a softer year on revenue. The positive is arguably more important: the division still appears to be strengthening its subscription base and contract visibility.

Vianet net cash position and strong cash generation support the dividend hike

This is where the results get more convincing. Year-end cash rose 22% to £3.40 million, and Vianet moved from net debt of £0.38 million to net cash of £0.44 million. For a small quoted company, that shift is meaningful.

Cash conversion came in at 96% of EBITDA, down from 111% last year but still strong. Cash conversion simply shows how much accounting profit turns into real cash. The lower percentage is not ideal versus last year, but 96% is still the sort of figure most investors would happily take.

The board has responded with a much bigger payout. The final dividend proposed is 2.00p per share, up from 1.00p, taking the total FY2026 dividend to 2.40p per share, compared with 1.30p in the main narrative. Based on the year-end share price of 61.00p, that gives a historical dividend yield of 3.93%.

One small point to note: note 2 in the accounts refers to 2025 total dividend payable of 1.40p, whereas the headline tables and commentary say 1.30p. The RNS does not explain that discrepancy. Either way, the direction of travel is obvious – the dividend has jumped sharply.

The board also says its medium-term ambition is to progress the historical dividend yield towards 5%, while keeping balance sheet flexibility. That is an ambitious signal, and one income-focused investors will notice.

Vianet Americas progress, Fintech partnership and US hospitality opportunity

The US story is not yet a profit story, but it is getting less expensive. Vianet Americas reduced its loss to £243,000 from £385,000, helped by improving commercial traction and cost discipline.

The bigger attraction is the potential scale. Vianet says its partnership with Fintech Inc. gives it access to more than 240,000 hospitality businesses and around 90% of major US chain operators. It also points to active relationships with Brinker, Margaritaville, World of Beer and a recently announced major national chain.

That sounds promising, but I would keep my feet on the ground. The board itself says it remains measured on the pace of large deployments in the US, and that is the right tone. Plenty of UK small caps talk up America; fewer turn it into material profits quickly.

Still, losses are narrowing and customer names are improving. That makes the US operation more credible than it was a year ago.

Leadership succession at Vianet looks sensible and governance improves

There was also a notable governance change. James Dickson moved from the combined Chair and Chief Executive Officer role back to Chairman on 1 June 2026, with Craig Brocklehurst becoming Chief Executive Officer and Sarah Bentham continuing as Chief Financial Officer.

That matters because combining the Chair and CEO roles is generally seen as weaker governance, even if sometimes justified in exceptional periods. Vianet says the combined role helped it through the COVID-19 period and afterwards, and now it is returning to a more conventional structure aligned with the QCA Corporate Governance Code. That looks like a sensible tidy-up rather than a red flag.

What Vianet shareholders should watch next after these FY2026 results

• Whether hospitality can keep growing at a similar pace in FY2027.
• Whether Smart Machines returns to revenue growth after the 3G to 4G LTE disruption fades.
• Whether Vianet Americas can keep narrowing losses and convert pilot activity into bigger contracts.
• Whether cash remains strong after dividends, product investment and US expansion.

My verdict on Vianet shares after the 2026 final results

I think this was a positive update. The company is not growing rapidly at group level, and the drop in statutory earnings means this is not a spotless set of accounts. But the more important features are improving recurring revenue, strong hospitality performance, better cash generation, a move into net cash and a sharply higher dividend.

In short, Vianet looks more robust, more predictable and better financed than it did a year ago. For retail investors, that usually beats a flashy story with no cash behind it.