Gattaca – improved profits for FY26 give confidence for a strong FY27 performance, 10 times earnings dropping to 8 times.
Mark Watson-Mitchell – 12.10.2026
The £45m-capitalised Gattaca (LON:GATC), the specialist staffing solutions business, will declare its Final Results for the year to end-July on Tuesday, 3rd November.
They will be impressive and are expected to point toward a very positive 2027 trading year.
The Group’s shares, now 145p, have risen nearly 62% since the beginning of the year, after having peaked at 175p in August.
I now expect that the shares will edge better, especially ahead of the Finals being announced in just under four weeks.
The Business
With its headquarters in Fareham, Hampshire, Gattaca is a human capital resources business providing contract and permanent recruitment services in the private and public sectors across the UK, Europe and North America regions.
Its segments include Mobility, Energy, Defence, Digital Technology, Infrastructure, Commercial & Professional, Gattaca Projects and International.
The Group offers a range of recruitment solutions, such as workforce solutions, technical recruitment solutions, engineering and technology solutions, workforce insights, events, and resources, and others.
It also provides a range of engineering and technology services to support clients’ needs, from engineering design services to analysis.
The business serves various markets, such as aerospace, automotive, defence, and banking and financial services.
Gattaca Projects solves complex technical and operational challenges through tangible outcome-based services.
The Company’s brands include Gattaca Solutions, Gattaca Projects, Matchtech, and Barclay Meade.
Net Fee Income remains its primary measure of financial performance, representing the gross margin earned across all of its revenue streams.
This includes:
Contract income: The margin generated on time worked by Independent and Employed Contractors over the duration of their assignments.
Permanent placement fees: One-time charges calculated as a percentage of a candidate’s starting salary.
Statement of Work outsourcing: Margins earned from managing defined projects or deliverables where it takes responsibility for outcomes, timelines, and quality standards.
The Group’s strategic weighting towards contract and SOW engagements provides resilience and strong forward visibility, as these arrangements typically generate repeatable, predictable fees and foster long-term client relationships.
Final Trading Update
On Monday, 17th August, the Group reported a strong trading update for the year to end- July, with Group Net Fee Income expected to increase by 11% to £43.2m, driven by a 16% rise in contract NFI.
The Company anticipates delivering an underlying Profit before Tax of approximately £6.1m, significantly up from £3.3m in the prior year, due to improved sales productivity and cost management.
Despite a slight decrease in sales headcount, targeted recruitment in the fourth quarter supports growth ambitions for FY27.
Gattaca maintains a robust balance sheet with net cash of £15m and expects further profit improvement in FY27, with plans for targeted investments and potential acquisitions.
Management Comment
CEO Matthew Wragg stated that:
"I am extremely pleased with the progress the Group has made during FY26.
Through a clear focus on our markets, consultant performance and operational efficiency, we have grown market share, delivered strong growth in net fee income and achieved a significant increase in profitability.
Through our focus on the elements within our control, we enter FY27 with good momentum.
The Group is developing strong market positions and is seeing the increased benefit of our tech stack, excellent staff engagement, healthy opportunity pipeline and robust balance sheet.
As a result, we enter the new financial year with renewed optimism."
The Equity
There are 31.53m shares in issue.
Mutual Funds and ETF’s hold 5.18%, other Institutional Investors hold 57.27%, while Public Companies and Retail Investors hold 37.56% of the equity.
The larger holders include MMGG Acquisition (22.8%), Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management (4.19%), Chelverton Asset Management (3.74%), Interactive Investor Services (3.65%), Apex Financial Services (Trust Company) (3.11%), Hargreaves Lansdown Fund Managers (1.73%), IG Markets (0.72%), HSBC Global Asset Management (0.34%), Seven Investment Management (0.32%) and HSBC Bank (Market Maker) (0.13%).
Brokers View
Analysts Sanjay Vidyarthi and Joe Brent, at Panmure Liberum, have recently upped their Buy note advice with an increased Target Price of 200p (185p).
They stated that:
“Gattaca continues to stand apart in the professional recruitment sector in terms of its positive estimate momentum, albeit others are at least seeing stabilisation.
This has been reflected in strong recent share price performances, though Gattaca still leads the pack on a 1yr TSR perspective.
We think that there is plenty more to go for.
As the sector re-rates, we raise our TP from 185p to 200p.”
Their estimates for the year to end-July are for net fee income of £43.2m (£38.8m), with pre-tax profits of £6.1m (£3.3m), lifting earnings to 13.5p (7.6p) and doubling its dividend to 6.0p (3.0p) per share.
For the current 2027 year, they see £45.3m NFI, £6.5m profit, 14.4p earnings and 6.9p per share in dividend.
Looking further ahead into 2028, they see £47.4m NFI, £7.5m profit, 16.5p earnings and a dividend raised to 6.9p per share.
For the 2028 year, the estimates are £47.8m NFI, £7.5m profit, 16.5p earnings and a dividend of 8p per share.
My View
Since my mid-March Profile on the Group, its shares have risen from 104p to 175p, then back down to the current 145p.
On the basis of the analyst estimates, I stand firmly by my early August-set 200p Target Price.
(Profile 16.03.26 @ 104p set a Target Price of 125p*)
(Profile 08.06.26 @ 147.50p set a Target Price of 165p*)
(Profile 03.08.26 @ 164p set a Target Price of 200p)
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