STS Defence Limited
Registered name: STS DEFENCE LIMITED
Part of Cicor Technologies Ltd groupSTS Defence Limited made £35.7m revenue and £4.3m profit in the year to 31 Dec 2025.
STS Defence Limited’s revenue fell 3% to £35.7m in the year to 31 Dec 2025, with £4.3m profit and 188 employees. The company is classified under “other manufacturing” and is based in Gosport; we hold 4 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- Gosport, South East
- Age
- 30 yrs · since 1996
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently.
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Jun 2023 | 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Dec 2024 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | ||||
| Revenue (turnover) | £27.5m | £11.8m | £36.7m | £35.7m |
| Cost of sales | £18.9m | £8.3m | −£21.2m | −£25m |
| Gross profit | £8.7m | £3.5m | £15.5m | £10.7m |
| Operating profit | £4.2m | £1.1m | £5.7m | £5.5m |
| Profit before tax | £4.2m | £1.1m | £5.4m | £5.6m |
| Profit after tax | £3.6m | £819k | £3.9m | £4.3m |
| Profit (best available) | £3.6m | £819k | £3.9m | £4.3m |
| Employees (average) | 158 | 157 | 166 | 188 |
| Ratios | ||||
| Profit margin | 12.9% | 7% | 10.8% | 12% |
| Gross margin | 31.5% | 30% | 42.2% | 29.9% |
| Revenue per employee | £174k | £75.1k | £221k | £190k |
| Profit per employee | £22.5k | £5.2k | £23.8k | £22.8k |
| Growth (year on year) | ||||
| Revenue growth | — | — | — | ▼2.6% |
| Profit growth | — | — | — | ▲8.5% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | — | ▲13.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | ||||
| Cash at bank | £2m | £1.7m | — | — |
| Net assets | £7.6m | £8.4m | — | — |
| Fixed assets | £519k | £509k | — | — |
| Current assets | £14.7m | £14m | — | — |
| Debtors | £4.6m | £3.1m | — | — |
| Deferred income | £858k | £725k | — | — |
| Source | FullAccounts · bulk data Aug 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Aug 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Mar 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Apr 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 12%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 29.9%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £190k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £22.8k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- —
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- —
- Now —
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- ▲13%
- Now 188
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- Cicor Technologies Ltd (registered outside the UK register)ultimate parent75–100%
- Cicor UK Ltd75–100%
- STS Defence Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Sister companies (3)
- Axis Electronics LimitedRev. £41.9m · Profit £7m
- Cicor Newport LtdRev. £33.6m · Profit £2.9m
- Cicor Hartlepool LtdRev. £25m · Profit £1.8m
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
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Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 31 Dec 2025 (profit £4.3m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Apr 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Updated from Companies House on 24 Oct 2026
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.