Pathos Communications confirmed a "very, very solid start" to its financial year - ICYMI

Pathos Communications Plc (LSE:NEWS) founder and CEO Omar Hamdi talked with Proactive about the company's strong first-half performance following its public listing, highlighting double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA, rising cash receipts and continued investment in artificial intelligence.

Hamdi, in an interview with Proactive, said the business has enjoyed "a very, very solid start to the year and start to life as a public company," attributing the performance to a large addressable market, expanding customer relationships and a growing range of services that increase customer lifetime value. He explained that repeat business continues to strengthen, with clients returning for additional projects and larger engagements.

The discussion also covered the company's AI strategy, centred around its virtual publicist, Pressella. Hamdi described two major opportunities for AI: improving internal productivity and enabling new customer applications through generative engine optimisation (GEO). He noted that businesses are increasingly interested in using public relations content to improve how they are represented by large language models such as ChatGPT, while citing Gartner's prediction that PR spending could double by next year.

Here, we take a closer look at what was said when Omar Hamdi joined the Proactive studio.

Proactive: You've delivered double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA. What were the key drivers behind that performance and what gives you confidence going into the second half of the year?

Omar Hamdi: It's been a very solid start to the year and to life as a public company. We came to market with sensible forecasts and a sensible valuation, giving us room to deliver and hopefully exceed expectations. The market is large, customers value our product and continue returning for more services. By expanding our product range, we're increasing customer lifetime value and seeing lots of positive momentum.

Proactive: An 80% increase in cash receipts and more repeat business suggests the quality of your revenue is improving. How important is that as Pathos continues to scale?

Omar Hamdi: It's extremely important. Although our model can appear transactional because it's results-based, we've demonstrated that we can build meaningful, long-term relationships with clients. We've announced significant contracts, including one worth $700,000, while continuing to widen our customer funnel. Once clients enter the Pathos ecosystem, many commission larger projects and some even pay upfront, strengthening the business further.

Proactive: You've made good progress with Pressella, and you're expanding into generative engine optimisation. How do these AI initiatives change what Pathos can offer clients over the next year?

Omar Hamdi: AI creates opportunities on two levels. First, Pressella acts as a virtual employee—a multilingual virtual publicist trained on years of company knowledge. Secondly, PR itself has become more valuable because media coverage helps inform large language models such as ChatGPT. Clients increasingly want to use PR for generative engine optimisation. Gartner has predicted PR spending could double by next year. We're taking a careful approach with Pressella because we want to build the product properly using seven years of proprietary training data.

Proactive: Looking ahead, you've mentioned further growth opportunities, including M&A. What should investors be watching for over the rest of 2026?

Omar Hamdi: We have strong momentum supported by nearly $1 million in deferred income, providing good visibility into future revenue. We also have approximately $6 million available to invest in both organic growth and acquisitions. We're evaluating opportunities that support aggressive but sustainable expansion.