Calian is riding the rising wave of interest in the defence business, with revenue in that area already growing by 12% year-over-year in third-quarter results, the company reported.
The raise reflects growth in defence interest in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom, as well as the beginnings of an upward trend in Canada, Calian CEO Kevin Ford told analysts in a call Wednesday (Aug. 13).
“Our defense business is thriving,” he said. As evidence, he cited a recent $250-million increase to a health care provider recruitment contract with the Department of National Defence. (Calian has held this contract since 2018, and also highlighted a health support services contract since 2005.)
With the Canadian Armed Forces looking to boost personnel by 13,000, Ford noted, this would come with a related increase in training and support in health care with which Calian would be happy to participate.
Government spending overall represents 50% of the revenues, and is set to grow with the recent appointment of Chris Pogue’s as president of defence and space, which took effect July 7. It is a new role for Calian and will see Pogue lead both the advanced technologies and learning business units, with an eye on military related mission success solutions.
“Chris is one of Canada’s most accomplished leaders in defence and space innovation,” Ford said. “He recently served as president and CEO of Thales Canada, where he expanded naval support services, re-established landforce capabilities, and guided key AI and digital transformation initiatives.”
Calian is expanding its defence footprint in Europe, but cannot disclose many details due to security requirements. “We have secured several new contracts. We are unable to disclose the details of these contracts to the security sensitivities,” Ford said.
Looking domestically, Canada is seeing “promising signs of momentum” as Calian is “actively engaging in discussions with the Canadian Armed Forces, and Members of Parliament, in an effort to become a strategic partner.”
The CANSEC trade show with the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries in Ottawa in May was one such opportunity to “showcase our strong range of solutions, significantly enhancing our brand presence in the marketplace,” Ford said.
The Canadian government has been moving aggressively for months to secure sovereignty with modern technology in the north, following on from years of quiet background work to bring big projects like over-the-horizon radar up to speed. (A recent example is Canada partnering with the Australian government, an expert in such radar, for recommendations on technology solutions.)
Accelerating the long-standing push is the Trump administration’s emphasis on defence spending, especially regarding Golden Dome – a long-term missile defence shield program. Many projects are already ongoing, too. As just one example: The United States’ Space Development Agency has a growing constellation of satellites in orbit already, as part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture for warning and tracking of hypersonic missiles.
Coupled with this is commitments from NATO partners, including Canada, to increase defence spending – providing opportunities for Canadian companies in this space, like Calian. Ongoing NORAD modernization efforts would especially be a target for Calian, Ford noted.
Ford said Calian is keenly interested in how Canada’s government will be participating in global defence initiatives, which will come with the federal government’s next budget – expected in the fall. By this time, Ford noted, Pogue should be settled into his role and able to define his vision for where to take defence and space – at which point an update will be provided to shareholders.
“This budget announcement,” Ford said of the Canadian government, “is expected to provide information regarding the renewed defence plans, including aspects such as scale, implementation, speed, and strategic priorities. By then we should have a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors will influence our contract opportunities and timelines.”
Calian, Ford noted, manufactures components for defence equipment and has a strong engineering manufacturing presence already in Canada for defence requirements. “We’re seeing now an exciting pipeline of engineering and manufacturing capabilities,” he added.
Calian’s results for the quarter ending June 30 saw revenues at $192 million, up 4% from $185 million a year ago. Gross margin was slightly up from last year, at 34.8%. Adjusted EBITDA fell 5%, to $19 million in Q3 2025 compared with $20 million in Q3 2024.
Calian officials said the decline in EBITDA was primarily due to lower profitability in IT and cybersecurity solutions (ITCS). “ITCS continues to face headwinds from a cyber security platform transition to Microsoft, and lower sales from its U.S customers,” Ford said. Increased marketing, and other “strategic measures”, are steps the company is taking to ideally increase revenues in this area in a couple of quarters.
Net profit fell to $0.6 million ($0.05 per diluted share), compared with $1.3 million ($0.11 per diluted share) in the same quarter last year. Officials noted this is due to factors such as amortization, compensation expenses associated with acquisitions, and “investments in our selling capacity.”
Calian’s contract backlog is $1.5 billion, with two-thirds of that representing the defence business in Canada and internationally.
Additionally, the company tracks acquisitive growth – which was at 4% for the quarter, on the back of acquisitions of Mabway (a manager of defence role-playing environments, finished in 2024) and Advanced Medical Solutions or AMS (finished in May 2025). AMS focuses on northern operational and medical support in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut and has 300 frontline medical personnel.
Organic growth remained flat; defence solutions and global navigation satellite systems increased, offset by the aforementioned declines in ITCS.
The company had $12 million in operating free cash flow. It used the cash and some of its credit facility for capital expenditures ($4 million) and acquisitions/earnouts ($27 million). Shareholders also collectively received $3 million in dividends; share buybacks were $16 million. Calian officials stated they have strong capital for “growth initiatives” in future quarters.
