French underwater drone maker Exail Technologies said on Wednesday its full-year core profit grew 40 per cent to €103 million ($119 million) driven by big contract wins in its mine countermeasure (MCM) drone system.
Its order intake for the year surged 87 per cent to €844 million, whilst its backlog at the end of the period stood over €1 billion.
"The return of high-intensity conflicts and the rise of asymmetric threats are accelerating a structural transformation of naval forces," the company said in a statement. "In Europe, this evolution of doctrine is part of a sustainable rearmament effort."
Shares in Exail have risen over 60 per cent so far this year as drone warfare revolutionises the military landscape. The company is one of only a handful worldwide to produce mine-hunting underwater drones.
For 2026, Exail forecast revenue growth in a double-digit percentage and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth above that of its revenues.
It continues to target an EBITDA margin of 25 per cent when its new major mine-hunting programme enters the production phase.
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet and Jakob Van Calster in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)