Cohort wins AWACs contract, while profits grow

Defence electronics firm Cohort saw its shares rocket on Monday morning after announcing strong profits and a big contract extension.

In the 12 months to the end of April pre-tax profits climbed 51% to £6.5m compared to £4.4m in 2010/2011.

Revenues were up 16% at £75.4m while the total dividend per share rose 21% to 2.9p.

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Cohort operates through three businesses: SCS, a defence consultancy, MASS which focuses on electronic warfare systems, and SEA which produces surveillance software and hardware.

Separately to the year-end results Cohort announced that the MASS division has been awarded a five-year extension to its managed IT service contract for the so-called "Sentry Whole Life Support Programme".

The Sentry programme is the contract to maintain Britain's Airborne Warning and Control System, better known as AWACs, or the planes with the big radar dish mounted on top.

Sentry is led by Northrop Grumman with MASS, AAR, BAE Systems and Cobham Aviation Services all pitching in. Under the contract MASS provides the specialist IT systems that allow all the partners to securely share sensitive information.

At 09:30 Cohort's stock had risen 15.9%.

BS