E7 Group: Identity expansion and the path to stronger cash returns

More than a conventional printing business

E7’s origins are in printing, but Identity Solutions is becoming the main influence on its growth. The division supplies passports, national identity cards, banking cards and tax stamps alongside other secure credentials.

In H1 2026, Identity Solutions revenue rose 47.5% to AED 221.8 million and accounted for approximately 62% of group sales. Group EBITDA increased 51.9% to AED 79.0 million despite softer trading in parts of the wider business.

The opportunity in additional capacity

E7 has invested in passport and tax-stamp production. Higher volumes could spread production costs across more documents, but the pace of orders and capacity utilisation will determine how quickly that investment produces better returns.

Government identity programmes have demanding security and certification requirements. Production experience, reliability and established relationships can support repeat business. E7 describes more than 70% of revenue as recurring, although order volumes and collection timing can still vary.

Where our forecasts see growth

We expect Identity Solutions to contribute most of the group’s revenue growth through FY2030. Printing, Education, Packaging and Logistics remain meaningful businesses, but their forecast growth is more modest.

Source: E7 Group reported results and Evermore Research, 9 October 2026 initiation. Figures rounded. FY2030 figures are analyst estimates and may change.

Growth still has to translate into cash

Tax stamps and international identity programmes provide opportunities to increase production. Our forecasts allow for near-term freight and supply-chain costs before margins improve over time.

The timing of contracts, utilisation and cash collections matters. Expansion does not automatically produce stronger shareholder returns, and the full report considers what could go wrong alongside the growth case. Our forecasts exclude acquisition earnings.

Our valuation

We initiated coverage with a Buy recommendation and blended fair value of AED 1.06 per share. That represents 15.2% capital upside from the AED 0.920 reference price used on 9 October 2026.

The full report explains the valuation, dividend assumptions, forecast cash flows and sensitivities. These are the views and estimates at publication, rather than a live assessment of the share price.