Tern Plc (LON:TERN), the company focused on value creation from Internet of Things (IoT) technology businesses, has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June 2026.
Interim Non-Executive Chair’s Statement
The first half of 2026 has been characterised by disciplined financial management and selective investment as the Board remained focused on seeking to preserve and enhance long-term shareholder value in a challenging market environment.
Against a backdrop of constrained funding markets for early-stage technology businesses, the Company continued to manage its resources carefully, while supporting those portfolio companies where we believe capital can be deployed most effectively. This approach contributed to a modest improvement in the Company’s net asset value during the Period and the loss for the six months reduced by 60% compared with the corresponding period in 2025. Subsequent to the Period end, the Company successfully completed a further equity placing and an underwritten open offer, enabling an additional investment in Talking Medicines, the repayment in full of the outstanding short-term loan facility, providing additional working capital and supporting future investments within the portfolio, while further strengthening the Company’s financial position. Engaging with shareholders remains an important priority for the Board. At the beginning of the year, we were pleased to host an online investor presentation and live Q&A session, bringing together members of Tern’s management team alongside senior representatives from Device Authority and Talking Medicines. This provided shareholders with the opportunity to hear directly from our portfolio companies, gain insight into their progress and engage with management on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
During the Period and post Period end, shareholders again demonstrated their support for the Company’s strategy, particularly through the open offers. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all shareholders who participated in the fundraisings and for the continued confidence placed in the Company and its portfolio companies.
The additional capital raised has enabled the Company to continue supporting Talking Medicines and Device Authority, while maintaining strict control over the Company’s costs. Although market conditions remain challenging, we continue to see encouraging operational progress across the portfolio. Our principal portfolio companies have advanced their product and service offerings through the adoption of artificial intelligence, advanced data science, automation and other next-generation technologies, strengthening their competitive positions within their respective markets. The Tern Board and management team remain actively engaged with portfolio company leadership, providing strategic guidance, commercial support and governance oversight to help with seeking to accelerate this evolution.
We believe that our principal portfolio companies are increasingly establishing themselves as recognised and differentiated participants within their sectors. Through a combination of targeted capital support and/or active stewardship, we have sought to help management teams develop capabilities that enhance customer value, improve commercial relevance and create stronger strategic positioning within rapidly evolving markets. As these businesses continue to mature, we believe these investments are increasing their attractiveness to customers, partners and other market participants, while enhancing their long-term strategic value and potential value realisation opportunities.
While the broader technology investment environment remains demanding, we believe Tern is better positioned than it was at the start of the year. Improved financial performance, strengthened liquidity, the repayment of short-term debt and continued portfolio development initiatives provide a platform from which we can pursue our objective of delivering value for shareholders over the medium term. The Board believes that the investments being made this year, both through capital support and active stewardship, are helping position the relevant portfolio companies as increasingly important participants within their markets at a time when demand for AI-enabled solutions continues to grow.
The continued support shown by shareholders throughout the year has been particularly important. It has enabled the Company to selectively defend and in one case strengthen its positions in certain of its portfolio companies that we believe are entering an increasingly significant stage of their development. The Board remains focused on supporting these businesses through this phase of maturity, with the objective of maximising value creation opportunities for all shareholders as soon as appropriate.
I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and look forward to updating you further on the Company’s progress and that of its portfolio companies during the remainder of 2026.
Jane McCracken
Interim Non-Executive Chair
