Getech (AIM: GTC) reports 15% revenue growth as exploration demand supports turnaround

Getech Group plc (AIM: GTC) expects first-half 2026 revenue to increase by 15% to £2.4 million as renewed demand across oil and gas, mining and natural hydrogen markets supports its refocused commercial strategy. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to improve to £0.2 million from a £0.1 million loss in the comparable period, marking a £0.3 million year-on-year swing. The group ended June with a £4 million order book, including £1.6 million expected to convert into revenue during the second half. Cash increased from £0.2 million at the end of 2025 to £0.6 million, while management said the company remained comfortably in line with full-year market expectations. The central tension is whether Getech can now turn a cost-led recovery into sustained recurring revenue and cash generation.

Why does Getech’s return to positive first-half EBITDA matter for the turnaround?

Getech’s first-half figures indicate that the restructuring undertaken during the past 18 months is beginning to improve the underlying economics of the business.

The company expects revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2026 to reach £2.4 million, compared with £2.1 million a year earlier. That represents growth of approximately £300,000.

Over the same period, adjusted EBITDA is expected to improve by the same £300,000, moving from a £100,000 loss to a £200,000 profit. The relationship between those two movements suggests that a significant proportion of incremental revenue is reaching the adjusted EBITDA line.

That is the operating leverage management wanted to create when it reduced the company’s annualised cost base by approximately £1 million during 2025. Getech cut its workforce by around 20%, reorganised the sales operation and concentrated resources on its established oil and gas and mining markets.

The company also retained selective exposure to natural hydrogen and helium, but positioned those activities as capital-light opportunities rather than the principal destination for corporate spending.

This matters because Getech’s earlier strategy had spread management attention and resources across multiple energy-transition markets while the company’s financial position weakened. The revised strategy places cash-generative subsurface data, software subscriptions and expert services back at the centre of the business.

The first-half result does not yet establish a high-margin growth model. An adjusted EBITDA contribution of £200,000 remains modest and could be affected by the timing of individual contracts. It nevertheless provides evidence that Getech can support a larger revenue base without rebuilding the cost structure it removed.

Has Getech’s revenue growth moved beyond the initial benefit of restructuring?

The first stage of Getech’s recovery was heavily dependent on reducing expenses. The next stage must be driven increasingly by customer activity and revenue growth.

Getech generated revenue of £5 million in 2025, an increase of 7.3% from £4.7 million in 2024. Reported EBITDA improved from a £600,000 loss to a £500,000 profit, while adjusted EBITDA reached £600,000.

That was the company’s first positive annual EBITDA result since 2019. However, the scale of the £1 million annualised cost reduction shows how important restructuring was to that improvement.

The first-half 2026 figures are more encouraging because revenue growth is accelerating after the cost programme was substantially completed. Management said trading strengthened during the six-month period, supported by a combination of new business and customer retention.

The commercial pipeline has also expanded following the reorganisation of the sales team and the appointment of a new sales director. That provides a potential bridge between the financial reset completed in 2025 and revenue-led growth in the second half of 2026.

The quality of that growth remains important. Getech earns revenue from recurring software and data subscriptions, expert services and less predictable data spot sales.

In 2025, recurring subscription revenue increased by only 1.1% to £2.79 million. Expert services revenue declined 18.1% to £1.04 million, while spot sales increased 85.3% to £1.17 million.

The strength in spot sales helped restore profitability, but individual data transactions can be uneven. A sustainable rerating would require Getech to grow subscription revenue alongside services and data sales, reducing its dependence on contract timing.

What does the £4 million order book reveal about second-half revenue visibility?

Getech’s order book increased to £4 million at the end of June from £3.8 million at the end of 2025. The approximately 5% increase is helpful because it occurred while the company was also converting existing contracts into first-half revenue.

Management expects £1.6 million of the June order book to be recognised during the second half of 2026. When combined with the £2.4 million expected for the first half, that provides visibility over at least £4 million of full-year revenue before considering additional orders, subscription renewals and spot sales that may be won or recognised during the period.

Getech generated £5 million of revenue in 2025, so the company will need further second-half contributions if it is to deliver meaningful full-year growth. The enlarged sales pipeline and positive trading commentary suggest management expects those contributions to arrive.

The order book also extends beyond the current financial year. Getech’s contracts can convert into revenue over periods ranging from one to five years, particularly where customers subscribe to the Globe platform or retain the company for embedded geospatial services.

This creates a combination of near-term revenue visibility and longer-term customer relationships. It does not remove execution risk because signed work must still be delivered, renewed and collected in cash.

The company has not disclosed the total value or probability-weighted size of its new business pipeline. Investors therefore have limited ability to determine how much larger it has become or how quickly opportunities could move into the contracted order book.

The most useful evidence will be actual conversion. If the order book continues growing while Getech reports higher revenue, it would show that new business is replacing and exceeding the contracts being delivered.

Why is annual recurring revenue still Getech’s most important unresolved metric?

Annual recurring revenue remained at £2.8 million at the end of June, unchanged from the end of 2025.

The stability reflects strong customer retention and provides Getech with a dependable revenue foundation. Management said its subscription customer base included four of the world’s six recognised oil and gas supermajors as Globe subscribers.

That level of customer quality is strategically valuable. Large energy companies often integrate geoscience data and analytical platforms into complex exploration workflows, making established products difficult to replace quickly.

However, retention is not the same as growth. Getech has repeatedly identified increasing annual recurring revenue as a central strategic priority, yet the metric has not moved beyond £2.8 million.

The company’s 2025 cost base, excluding depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items, was approximately £4.8 million. Annual recurring revenue therefore covered less than three-fifths of that cost base, although Getech also generates revenue from expert services and spot data sales.

Management’s longer-term ambition is for recurring revenue to cover the company’s cost base. Reaching that point would make project and spot-sale income more capable of generating incremental profit rather than supporting basic operating expenditure.

The company said it had a pipeline of material recurring revenue opportunities. Existing customers may also provide expansion opportunities as Getech adds functionality, analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities to Globe.

Until those opportunities convert, ARR remains the clearest gap in the turnaround. The first-half update proves that revenue and profitability can improve, but the unchanged recurring revenue figure shows that the quality and predictability of growth still require further evidence.

Does Getech have enough liquidity to execute its strategy without new capital?

Getech reported cash of £600,000 at 30 June 2026, compared with £200,000 at the end of 2025.

The year-on-year and year-end improvement is positive, but the path between those dates is important. Cash had reached £800,000 by the end of March following the collection of receivables, meaning the balance declined by £200,000 during the second quarter.

That movement does not necessarily indicate operating deterioration. Getech’s cash position can vary with annual licence payments, contract invoicing and the collection of customer receivables.

The company collected £1.6 million from customers during January 2026, including £1.2 million of year-end receivables. Its 2025 accounts also disclosed the use of a short-term unsecured bank facility during the final quarter to manage working-capital timing and fund annual payments to key suppliers.

Management expects planned operations to be funded organically under its base-case outlook. The return to positive EBITDA, lower cost base and contracted order book all make that expectation more credible than it was before the restructuring.

However, £600,000 remains a limited absolute cash buffer. Delayed customer payments, weaker spot sales or slower pipeline conversion could create renewed working-capital pressure even if the company remains profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis.

The distinction between adjusted EBITDA and cash generation will therefore be critical. Investors need evidence that the business can pay suppliers, fund product development and manage contract timing without relying on repeated equity issuance or expanding short-term borrowing.

Getech issued shares during July following the exercise of employee options, but that was not presented as an operating fundraising. The company’s current strategy depends on disciplined spending and organic cash generation rather than a large externally financed expansion programme.

How is renewed exploration spending changing Getech’s commercial opportunity?

Getech provides data, software and specialist analysis used to identify and evaluate subsurface resources. Its customers include energy companies, mining businesses, governments and regulators.

Management believes geopolitical instability and concerns about energy security are encouraging companies and governments to reassess exploration requirements. Declining oil and gas reserve replacement rates may also increase demand for tools that help customers identify prospects and reduce the risk of expensive exploration programmes.

Getech’s proprietary gravity and magnetic database is a central asset in this process. Gravity and magnetic information can help customers understand basin structures, faults and geological formations before committing capital to more expensive seismic surveys or drilling.

Sales of Getech’s gravity and magnetic data increased 85% in 2025. The company attributed this to the strengthened sales operation and early signs of renewed exploration investment.

The opportunity is not restricted to hydrocarbons. The same underlying data and geoscience expertise can be applied to critical minerals, geothermal resources, natural hydrogen and helium.

Getech has been deliberately cautious about allocating capital to emerging sectors. Its natural hydrogen and helium activities are being advanced through service contracts and partnerships, including its joint venture with Sound Energy to explore opportunities in Morocco.

That approach limits direct capital exposure while allowing Getech to participate if the market develops. It also keeps the company focused on oil and gas and mining customers that can generate near-term revenue.

The risk is that exploration budgets remain cyclical. Higher geopolitical concern may encourage energy-security planning, but oil and gas companies still assess projects against commodity prices, shareholder return expectations and long development periods.

Mining customers also remain selective, particularly outside stronger commodities such as copper and gold. Getech must convert favourable industry discussion into signed subscriptions, services agreements and data purchases.

What does the Getech share-price reaction indicate about investor confidence and risk?

Getech shares closed at approximately 2.15p following the trading update, an increase of 10.3% from the previous 1.95p close.

Trading volume reached approximately 1.4 million shares, more than six times the recent daily average. That shows the update attracted attention despite Getech’s small market capitalisation and normally limited liquidity.

Following the gain, the shares were up approximately 10% over five trading days and around 2% over one month. The 52-week range stood at approximately 1.67p to 2.61p, placing the current price about 18% below the high and 29% above the low.

With approximately 152.7 million shares outstanding, a 2.15p share price implies an equity value of roughly £3.3 million. That is below Getech’s £5 million of reported 2025 revenue.

The valuation could appear inexpensive if Getech delivers recurring revenue growth, sustainable cash generation and higher EBITDA. It also reflects the risks associated with a very small company operating with limited cash and exposure to cyclical exploration spending.

Liquidity creates another consideration. Getech’s bid and offer prices were approximately 2p and 2.3p after the announcement, a relatively wide spread that can make entry and exit prices materially different from the displayed mid-market valuation.

The 10% gain indicates that investors recognised the improved first-half performance. It should not be treated as evidence that the turnaround is complete.

Which milestones will determine whether Getech’s recovery becomes self-sustaining?

The first milestone is annual recurring revenue. Getech needs to move the figure beyond £2.8 million by winning new Globe customers, expanding existing subscriptions or increasing contract values.

The second is second-half order conversion. Management expects £1.6 million of the order book to become revenue during the period, while the wider pipeline must provide enough additional business to deliver full-year growth.

Cash generation is the third test. The cash balance needs to remain stable or improve as revenue expands, demonstrating that adjusted EBITDA is being converted into financial capacity.

Investors should also monitor the composition of growth. Recurring subscriptions and multi-year services contracts would provide greater predictability than a recovery driven mainly by individual data sales.

Cost discipline must remain intact. The restructuring has created operating leverage, but rebuilding expenses before recurring revenue grows could weaken the economics that produced the first-half improvement.

Getech has completed the first phase of its recovery by reducing costs, restoring positive EBITDA and stabilising the business. The second phase is harder: building a larger recurring revenue base without exhausting its limited liquidity or diluting the operating leverage already created.

What are the key takeaways from Getech’s first-half 2026 trading update?

• Getech expects first-half revenue to rise 15% to £2.4 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA is expected to improve from a £100,000 loss to a £200,000 profit.
• The £300,000 EBITDA swing matches the increase in revenue, indicating improved operating leverage.
• The order book increased from £3.8 million at the end of 2025 to £4 million at the end of June.
• Approximately £1.6 million of contracted revenue is expected to be recognised during the second half.
• Annual recurring revenue remained unchanged at £2.8 million despite being a central strategic priority.
• Cash improved from £200,000 at the end of 2025 to £600,000, but remained below the £800,000 reported at the end of March.
• Management said Getech remained comfortably in line with full-year market expectations.
• Getech shares gained approximately 10%, although the company remains a highly illiquid micro-cap investment.
• Recurring revenue growth, order conversion and cash generation are the next important proof points.