Drone-defence firm DroneShield posts record first-half revenue following last week’s sell-off

DroneShield has posted record first-half revenue amid a deteriorating geopolitical environment globally and comes nearly a week after shares in the anti-drone defence technology company plummeted 20 per cent.

DroneShield in its latest quarterly report on Monday revealed fist-half revenue hit $24.1 million, up 110 per cent from the prior corresponding period’s $11.5m.

The Sydney-based firm — which develops non-lethal countermeasure devices for drones — also said customer cash receipts grew to a record $21.4m, up 40 per cent.

DroneShield has doubled its pipeline since the end of March to $1.1 billion in what it said was boosted by a “significant ramp up in the Asia region”.

It said multiple governments have taken up “substantial” counter-drone programs against the threat of small Chinese drones conducting surveillance of sensitive areas, harassment and potential attacks.

“As the geopolitical environment deteriorates globally, small drones continue to be used by bad actors, both State and non-State alike,” DroneShield said.

It added the counter-drone industry remained at negligible saturation point due to the nascent nature of the drone market.

“This is in contrast to markets such as helmets, body armour and tactical radios, as those markets have existed for a relatively long time, and are saturated as a result,” DroneShield said.

The positive update was not enough to excite investors, with DroneShield shares down 21 per cent to $1.55 at the close. DroneShield was put in a trading halt last Tuesday after the share price fell 22 per cent to $2.02 following a rise of nearly sixfold this year.

In response to a price query from the Australian Securities Exchange at the time, DroneShield said the only explanation it had for the plunge was a media article about short-sellers circling the firm.