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A $49.6 million European military contract has put a rocket under DroneShield’s (ASX: DRO) share price which surged more than 25 per cent today to a four-week high.
The shares peaked at $2.88 - well above the lows they plumbed a month ago following the sudden departure of US CEO Matt McCrann and the dumping of shares by key executives after they converted performance-based options.
The European contract, which comprises the company’s handheld counterdrone systems, accessories and software updates, has been received from a repeat customer in the region.
“Over the past three years, DroneShield has received 15 contracts from this reseller totalling over $86.5 million,” says the company.
“There are no obligations for any additional contracts from this reseller or end customer.”
DroneShield says a large portion of the stock required to fill the order is already on the shelf and the company expects to complete all deliveries in the first quarter of 2026, with cash payments expected to be received during the quarter.
DroneShield made little fanfare with the latest contract and confirmed that its announcement to the ASX today contains “all material information relevant to assessing the impact of the contract” on the price of its shares.
The cautious note follows an ASX probe into the company's level of disclosures last month, largely stemming from the sale by CEO Oleg Vornik and chairman Peter James of almost $67 million worth of shares which led to a wipeout of more than 30 per cent from the company’s share price.
The shares were among 44.455 million performance options that were vested in accordance with the company hitting revenue of $200 million in a rolling 12-month period.
Initially raising controversy for the company just before announcing the share sales by Vornik and James, DroneShield issued a retraction of an earlier announcement regarding a “new” US government contract valued at $7.6 million.
The company clarified that the contract was an existing order that was recorded as a new order due to an administrative error.
The shares hit a low of $1.625 on 24 November in the wake of the share-sale controversy and have largely recovered to sit about $2 over the past week.
However, the shares are still well off their record high of $6.705 achieved on 10 October 2025.
In August, DroneShield posted a record first-half earnings result for FY25 with revenue of $72.3 million up 210 per cent and customer cash receipts of $60.7 million up 185 per cent, leading to a $2.1 million profit after tax – a big turnaround from the $4.8 million loss a year earlier.
DroneShield’s shares closed 22 per cent higher at $2.81.
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