Shares in counter-drone solutions company DroneShield Limited (ASX: DRO) are out of favour despite the company posting record first-half results.
The firm on Wednesday reported record results across all metrics, with revenue of $72.3 million, up 210%, and net profit swinging into the black, coming in at $2.1 million compared with a $4.8 million loss for the previous corresponding period.
DroneShield shares fell 6.4% on the result, down to $3.34. The stock has been a strong performer over the past 12 months; however, it has traded as low as 58.5 cents over the period before surging as high as $4.39 in August, before settling back.
The company is now valued at more than $3 billion.
DroneShield said it was experiencing "significant ongoing momentum, including a $61.6 million contract received on 25 June, the largest in company history, due for full delivery by the end of August".
Strong start to the second half
The company added that the second half of the year had started strongly, with $42.1 million in revenue logged in just the first six weeks of the half.
"The secured FY2025 revenue stands at an exceptional $176.3 million," the company said.
"With a strong amount of inventory on hand, the company expects to fully deliver (and recognise revenue for) most purchase orders received prior to November-December."
Chief executive Oleg Vornik said the result reflected the company's strong product suite as well as the "rapidly growing market for counter-drone solutions".
"We're proud to be delivering cutting-edge technology at scale while expanding our footprint across key international markets," he said.
Manufacturing to ramp up
DroneShield said it was continuing to advance its portfolio of artificial intelligence-driven solutions. Its current drone detection model, RFAI-2, is scheduled for a significant update in October, while the next generation RFAI-3 suite is expected to be launched in mid-2026.
The company said it was scaling its manufacturing capacity from $500 million to $2.4 billion per annum by the end of 2026, across Australia, the United States, and Europe, and would minimise the need for capital expenditure by using contract manufacturing.
"DroneShield's continued investment in scalable technology, global partnerships, and customer-centric innovation positions the group for sustained growth and leadership in the counter-drone sector," the company said.
