Nexteq plc (LON: NXQ), the AIM-listed technology group behind gaming computer platforms under its Quixant brand and display technology under Densitron, swung to a $4.7m statutory pre-tax loss in unaudited first-half results released this morning, as US tariffs hit demand from its casino and slot-machine customers.
Group revenue fell 34% to $26.7m in the six months to 30 June, down from $40.7m a year earlier, when the company reported a $0.8m profit. Diluted earnings per share fell to a loss of 8.73 US cents, compared with a profit of 1.04 cents in the same period last year.
The pain was concentrated in Quixant, where revenue almost halved, dropping 53% to $12.8m as gaming customers cut order volumes in response to tariff costs. Densitron, the smaller display and human-machine-interface unit serving broadcast, medical and industrial markets, edged up 1% to $13.9m and lifted gross margin to a record 38%, partly offsetting the group’s 280 basis point decline in overall gross margin to 30.3%.
Despite the swing to loss, the board reiterated its full-year guidance, pointing to order coverage of 83% at the end of August. Management flagged that securing two further significant Gaming orders remains necessary to confirm the year-end position.
Shares closed at 50p on Tuesday, within a 52-week range of 45p to 90.75p, and were little changed in early trading on Wednesday, suggesting the market had already priced in much of the downturn through trading updates issued in May and July.
Chief executive Duncan Faithfull said: “H1 2026 was a challenging period for Nexteq, with the headwinds facing our end markets intensifying during the period. However, we continued to make progress against the areas that will build a stronger, more diversified business. As we enter our seasonally stronger second half, and with encouraging commercial progress against our strategy, our focus is on executing well: supporting our customers, converting our pipeline, developing the right products and ensuring we have the right operating model to deliver efficiently.”
Traders are likely to focus less on the size of the interim loss than on whether those two outstanding Gaming orders materialise in the second half, given that the guidance reiteration, rather than the headline numbers, is the figure the market has yet to fully test.