London, June 11, 2025 (Lusa) - Portuguese defence communications company EID posted record results last year and is expected to continue growing by an average of 10% in the coming years, Chief Executive Martin Bennett said on Wednesday.
“With our current product, we will continue to grow. I see us growing 10% per year on average in the near future,” he told the Lusa news agency in a presentation to journalists of the Cohort Group, of which EID is a part.
Since 2023, the number of employees has increased by 40%, from 120 to 170, and there are plans to renovate and expand the facilities in Charneca da Caparica (on the south bank of the River Tagus in the Lisbon region) as part of an internal transformation programme to grow the business.
“We are analysing our culture and organisation, the way we do things, as we move from a traditionally more research and development company that built things mainly for the Portuguese forces and exported them to an organisation that develops products for the market and end users,” he explained.
Bennett guarantees that EID’s portfolio is “very competitive, both in terms of technology and price,” and internationally recognised.
EID is a Portuguese military technology company founded in 1983, specialising in naval communications, tactical communications and information systems.
Since 2016, 80% of the capital has been owned by the British group Cohort, with the Portuguese state maintaining a strategic stake of 20%.
EID’s products and services are currently used by 210 ships from 18 countries and by the armies of around a dozen countries. Ecuador, Chile and Colombia are some of the most recent customers, it revealed, but Portugal remains the largest market.
The results of EID and the Cohort group reflect increased global defence and security spending due to growing geopolitical tensions, and the sector is likely to continue to grow in the near future.
“The international situation is very unfortunate,” said group chairman Andy Thomis, referring to the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and the positions of the US president.
However, as a defence technology group, it was pleased to “contribute to the security of the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Australia and all our export markets”.
“The importance of the defence sector and companies like ours has increased,” he acknowledged.
The British group had already posted record profits and revenues in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, exceeding expectations, and in the year ending April 30 it maintained its strong performance.
Last year, operating profit was £21.1 million (€24.9 million at current exchange rates) and revenue was £202.5 million (€239 million), an increase of 11% over the previous year in both cases.
In the first six months, up to October 31, 2024, it recorded a 25% annual increase in revenue, reaching £118.2 million (€139.6 million).
The Cohort group consists of six companies, including the Portuguese company EID, which provide services and products mainly to military customers.
Last month, the group announced its largest ever acquisition, Australian company EM Solutions, a leader in the development of satellite terminals mainly for the naval sector, for £75 million (€88.6 million).
Cohort Group’s share price closed at £14.61 on the London market today.
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Lusa
