Kainos Group plc (LON:KNOS), a UK-headquartered IT provider with expertise across three divisions – Digital Services, Workday Services and Workday Products, has announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Financial highlights
| 2026 | 2025 | Change | |
| Revenue | £431.1m | £367.2m | +17% |
| Statutory profit before tax | £58.1m | £48.6m | +19% |
| Adjusted pre-tax profit([1]) | £67.1m | £65.6m | +2% |
| Diluted earnings per share | 35.1p | 28.2p | +24% |
| Adjusted diluted earnings per share | 41.1p | 38.3p | +7% |
| Total dividend per share | 29.6p | 28.4p | +4% |
| Bookings | £505.3m | £382.4m | +32% |
| Product Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) | £89.0m | £72.6m | +23% |
| Contracted backlog | £433.9m | £368.2m | +18% |
| Cash([2]) | £89.1m | £133.7m | -33% |
Strong sales execution has driven revenue growth across the Group, with profit slightly ahead of expectations despite anticipated cost increases
| = | Revenue increased by 17% (16% organic, 19% ccy) to £431.1 million (2025: £367.2 million). |
| = | Adjusted pre-tax profit was 2% higher (5% ccy) at £67.1 million, with an adjusted profit margin of 16% (2025: 18%).· Following a series of large contract awards during the year, we significantly increased the use of contractors and third-party suppliers to support growth and provide delivery capacity. Contractor costs increased to £18.5 million (2025: £4.5 million), while third-party supplier costs increased to £30.1 million (2025: £14.7 million), including both short-term capacity support and strategic supplier arrangements.· In addition, the period included the first full year of investment in our Built on Workday partnership, together with higher employee costs relating to increased National Insurance contributions and elevated bonus payments reflecting stronger business performance. |
| = | Bookings grew by 32% to £505.3 million (2025: £382.4 million) and the year-end contracted backlog rose 18% to £433.9 million (31 March 2025: £368.2 million). |
| = | Cash conversion of 99% (2025: 112%) contributed to a robust year-end cash position(2) of £89.1 million (2025: £133.7 million), after returning £55.7 million through share buybacks, acquiring Davis Pierrynowski Limited (Davis Pier), progressing construction of our Belfast HQ and paying restructuring costs provided for in FY25. |
| = | The current share buyback programme completed on 15 May 2026, with a total of 3,729,068 shares bought back for consideration of £30.0 million. |
Operational highlights
Workday Products continued its rapid growth and is on track to reach our ARR targets of £100 million by the end of 2026 and £200 million by the end of 2030
| = | Revenue rose 15% (19% ccy) to £81.7 million (2025: £71.3 million), with ARR increasing by 23% (24% ccy) to £89.0 million (2025: £72.6 million). |
| = | Reaching £100 million ARR will represent a significant milestone for the business and one achieved by very few UK software companies. This progress reflects the strength of the founding team and colleagues across the division, led by Malachy Smith, whose vision, drive and leadership have been central to building one of the UK’s most scaled and successful software businesses. |
| o As we build towards our £200 million ARR target, we have invested in the leadership team within the division, adding additional expertise and experience to the team across several senior roles.o These appointments include a Chief Marketing Officer (ex-Google, Microsoft), Chief Product Officer (ex-UiPath, Optimizely), Chief Customer Officer (ex-Mimecast, Veeva), and a Chief Revenue Officer (ex-Splunk, VMware).o Derek Brown (ex-Quantexa, BAE) will join in June to lead this expanded team, with Malachy transitioning to an advisory role in the Group focused on new areas with significant growth potential. | |
| = | Workday Products now has nearly 700 customers (31 March 2025: more than 560) with around 41% taking two or more products (31 March 2025: around 35%). |
| = | We continued to invest in our products, with R&D expenditure rising by 11% to £18.7 million (2025: £16.8 million), all of which was expensed in the year. Sales and marketing spend increased by 21% to £18.7 million (2025: £15.5 million), including £2.3 million of additional costs associated with the first full year of our Workday partnership. |
| = | Through an exclusive arrangement, Workday is reselling our new Pay Transparency product to its customers, to help them meet the requirements of the European Pay Transparency Directive which comes into force from next month. |
Digital Services returned to growth with significant contract wins in healthcare and the public sector and continued expansion in North America
| = | Revenue increased by 23% (20% organic, 23% ccy) to £241.7 million (2025: £197.2 million). |
| = | Bookings were 29% higher at £261.3 million (2025: £202.0 million), contributing to a year-end contracted backlog of £180.3 million (31 March 2025: £160.1 million). |
| = | Public sector revenue rose by 11% to £136.0 million (2025: £122.1 million)([3]) and healthcare revenue was 55% up at £74.9 million (2025: £48.2 million), with both sectors benefiting from large new contract wins including programmes with the Home Office, Department for Transport, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and NHS England. |
| = | During the year, we deprioritised acquiring new commercial customers to invest in growth opportunities in other parts of Digital Services. As a result, commercial sector revenue was 41% lower at £10.7 million (2025: £18.0 million). |
| = | Revenue in North America was 127% higher at £20.2 million (2025: £8.9 million), with strong organic growth (75%) and a six-month contribution from Davis Pier, a consultancy specialising in addressing complex challenges for public sector and community organisations. |
Workday Services also returned to growth in FY26, due to a strong sales performance and our focus on more complex deployments where we have deep expertise
= | We are a leading Workday consulting specialist, the seventh([4]) largest globally by certified consultant numbers. |
| = | Revenue increased by 9% (12% ccy) to £107.6 million (2025: £98.7 million), with 12% growth in the Americas. EMEA revenue was down 1% but the trend is improving, with sequential growth each half year since H2 2025. |
| = | We continued to make good progress in new markets, with revenue in Australia and New Zealand growing quickly and opportunities emerging in Latin America. |
| = | Bookings increased by 44% to £121.8 million (2025: £84.6 million), with a contracted backlog of £74.9 million at the year end (31 March 2025: £59.3 million). |
We continue to benefit from our geographical breadth, with international markets generating 41% of Group revenue (2025: 41%)
| = | International revenue rose by 18% to £177.2 million (2025: £149.9 million). |
| = | Workday Services and Workday Products have particularly strong international customer bases, which generate 83% of their aggregate revenues (2025: 81%). |
Excellent service drives customer satisfaction and retention
| = | Our customers continued to rate our services as ‘excellent’, with a Net Promoter Score of 61 (2025: 70). |
| = | Existing customers generated revenue of £370.0 million (2025: £299.4 million), up 24%, representing 86% of Group revenue (2025: 82%). |
| = | Customer numbers increased to 1,253 at the year end (31 March 2025: 1,094). |
Engaged and committed colleagues underpin our business performance
| = | We have 3,475 people (31 March 2025: 2,865) across 17 countries, with the increase reflecting organic growth and the 120 colleagues who joined us with Davis Pier. |
| = | The number of employed staff rose from 2,796 at 31 March 2025 to 3,216 at the year end. |
| = | Employee retention remains strong at 90% (2025: 93%), supported by high engagement of 77% (2025: 75%) in our internal surveys. |
Continued growth in our AI business, as we help customers responsibly harness its potential
| = | Revenues for AI- and data-related projects increased 11% to £45.8 million (2025: £41.1 million) and now represent 19% of Digital Services’ revenue (2025: 21%). |
| = | To date, we have delivered over 400 AI and data projects, including 158 in FY26. |
| = | Since 2018, Kainos has been the seventh largest supplier of AI to the UK public sector, with over £66 million in awarded contracts. |
| = | We continue to invest in our Responsible AI capabilities and are doubling the size of the Kainos Responsible AI team to support safe, responsible, and scalable adoption of AI by our customers. |
| = | We launched a Workday AI Centre of Excellence, building on our founding membership of Workday’s Agent Partner Network and deep expertise across Workday Services and Products. |
Current trading and outlook
| = | We operate in markets with clear long-term structural drivers, as organisations increasingly seek to harness technology to improve their service quality and productivity, and reduce cost. |
| = | Our near-term performance is supported by a healthy pipeline, a significant contracted backlog and a strong balance sheet. |
| = | In FY27, we expect:- Continued momentum in Workday Products, including achieving our initial ARR targetof £100 million by the end of 2026.- Further growth in Digital Services, led by our public sector and healthcare segments in the UK and our strengthened position in North America.- Another positive year for Workday Services, as we continue to focus on complex deployments for customers and consulting activities linked to our own products, coupled with further progress in our newer international markets. |
Commenting on the results, CEO Brendan Mooney said:
“This was a positive year for Kainos, with excellent revenue growth. Our strong customer relationships and significant contracted backlog position us well for further progress in the year ahead.
“Workday Products remains a key growth driver. We are on track to surpass £100 million of ARR by the end of 2026 and reach £200 million of ARR by 2030. Our investment in product development is delivering results and we have further strengthened our relationship with Workday through our exclusive arrangement for it to resell our new Pay Transparency product to its customers.
“Technology remains the cornerstone of the UK Government’s plans to make public services better, more efficient and easier to access. Our major contract wins in the year reflect our expertise and track record in the public and healthcare sectors. We are also excited about the potential in North America, bolstered by the addition of Davis Pier in Canada.
“Workday Services has regained momentum, as we have focused on the more complex deployments where we have deep expertise and can add real value for customers. We delivered strong growth in North America, a stable performance in Europe and continued to expand in our other international markets.
“Our achievements are based on enduring customer relationships and our engaged and talented workforce. We are grateful for our customers’ continued trust in us and our colleagues’ dedication and energy.”
