DroneShield chief executive Oleg Vornik lashes critics after $50m share sale

Droneshield chief executive and founder Oleg Vornik said he sold shares in the military contractor to pay a $25 million tax bill and has complained about a torrent of media criticism he said threatened his personal safety.

Shares in the counter-drone hardware business have been on a rollercoaster ride over the past 12 months amid a media storm over the company Mr Vornik has said could eventually join the blue-chip index of Australia’s 100 largest companies.

Last week, Droneshield reported an operating profit of $23.4m on revenue that climbed 277 per cent to $216.5m in 2025.

But it was Mr Vornik’s November decision to take advantage of its share price run to sell around $50 million worth of shares that has grabbed all the attention.

‘Does Oleg have $25 million? No.’

Talking to The Nightly, the Russian-born executive said he was surprised by the ongoing media interest, which on Wednesday included an article that suggested he sought to promote the killing of civilians by ICE agents in the US state of Minnesota. The articles made little difference to someone who “grew up poor” with his mother in New Zealand’s public housing, he said.

The share sales were to pay a tax bill, he said. Moreover, they were a reward for the company’s performance that gave him the opportunity to secure his financial future.

“On the share sales half of it was tax,” he said. “In Australia, when you have performance options vest and you exercise them the ATO says I don’t care whether you sell, or not, as half of what you just made in theory [from the share options] is ours [the tax office’s].

“So any sensible person looking at it would be like Oleg just got a $25m tax bill! Does Oleg have $25m? No, so, obviously he’ll be selling some shares.”

Mr Vornik added that he respected the media’s role and admired many journalists, but felt some had gone too far by revealing information about where he lives.

“Identifying my home in Bondi, I felt was crossing the line because I’m running a business that covers the national security of Australia and its allies,” he said.

“That obviously puts me in the line of harm for anyone not friends of Australia. So giving the details of where I live and pictures of the place is creating a significant security risk for me.”

Divisive valuation, hedge fund doubts

Droneshield’s loyal army of retail shareholders have long been attracted to its compelling story of operating in the fast-growing market for drone defence, or civilian security at large public gatherings such as sports events and political rallies.

Like a lot of local share market businesses, the company has several sell-side brokers that promote its prospects, including Bell Potter, which recently declared 2026 is the “year of the drone” and told investors to buy.

Other professional investors have long doubted its $3.4 billion valuation, which means it trades on 653 times its profit before tax of just $5.2m in 2025.

The high-performing hedge fund, Plato Long Short Fund, has regularly shorted the stock and warned it’s overvalued. The fund manager led by the imposing former rugby professional, David Allen, who boasts a PhD in Quantitative Finance from the University of Cambridge and resides near Bondi in Sydney’s Rose Bay.

“The simultaneous sale of shares by the CEO, chairman, and an independent director following a period of share price weakness and shortly after a misleading business wine announcement is a significant governance red flag,” Plato recently told clients in a highly critical note obtained by The Nightly.

“We see a notable lack of defence industry experience across the board, including the chairman and CEO. In our experience, this absence of domain expertise has been a common feature in past corporate failures.”

Mr Vornik insists the company’s individual investors using cheap brokerage apps are right to think the stock can keep climbing in value.

This assumption is based on the bright sales growth outlook and improved corporate governance.

“We increased the board a little over a year ago from three to five, we’ve got [law firm] Freehills to make our corporate governance gold standard policy and reflecting what you expect an ASX 200 company to have,” he said “We’ll also bring one or two directors to the board with adequate experience.”

Sales growth of its counter-drone hardware is expected to come from the US, as the nation prepares for large public events such as the FIFA World Cup in 2027.

Droneshield executives met the UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces, Alistair Carns, just days ago in the elite military town of Hereford.

“I’m expecting another very strong year, but we don’t issue guidance,” Mr Vornik said. “In the US the defence budget continues to increase to a proposed $US1.5 trillion in 2027.

“And the US DHS (Department of Homeland Security] have set up a $US1.5b counter-drone acquisition vehicle as they prepare with local law enforcement for the World Cup in June and July, which I think will be a great driver for counter-drone security. Europe also continues to be an enormous market for us.”

The company was the S&P/ASX200’s best performer in 2025, even after the drama and slump that followed the investor furore around the corporate governance.

In January, Droneshield revealed it has issued a new round of 9.2 million bonus share options to employees and executives as a result of it meeting a target of $200 million in sales in a rolling 12-month period.

In the future, more share options are liable to be issued — and potentially sold on market — if management meets progressively higher sales targets over fixed periods.