July 28 (Reuters) – French defence company Exosens said on Tuesday it would triple thermal-camera production capacity in 2026 to meet growing demand from drone and counter-drone applications, as it reported a 15.3% rise in first-half revenue and raised its full-year outlook.
The night-vision gear maker said it now expected full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA to come in toward the upper end of its respective guidance ranges of 520 million to 540 million euros and 168 million to 178 million euros. It also expects capital expenditure of around 9% of 2026 revenue, driven by production-capacity expansion in Europe and the United States.
First-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 18.3% to 83.6 million euros.
The company said demand for advanced imaging systems used in autonomous defence platforms was accelerating and that the capacity expansion would strengthen its position in one of the fastest-growing defence markets.
“This expansion reinforces our ability to support accelerating customer demand with scalable industrial capabilities, while strengthening our position as a trusted, ITAR-free strategic partner for leading defense OEMs and autonomous systems developers,” CEO Jerome Cerisier said in a press release.
($1 = 0.8795 euros)
(Reporting by Zakarya Meliani and Ronan Corcoran; additional reporting by Hugo Lhomedet and Jakob Van Calster; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
