Cohort shares climb as contract backlog comes close to market cap after UK defence order
Cohort plc surged Wednesday, as small and mid-cap UK defence stocks caught a bid after Britain announced a new defence investment plan. Cohort closed at 1,338p, up 108p, or 8.78%. Valuation is the key issue. Cohort said in a voting-rights notice Wednesday it had 47,046,227 ordinary shares out, with no treasury shares. At 1,338p per share, that puts equity at around £629 million. The company’s last trading update showed a closing order book of about £620 million. Order book isn’t profit, but with that ratio, it could be important going into full-year results.