REG - Gooch & Housego PLC - AGM Trading Update

Gooch & HousegoAnnouncement

23/02/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 4740C  Gooch & Housego PLC  23 February 2022

 

 For  immediate release   23 February 2022

 

Gooch & Housego PLC

("G&H" or the "Company")

 

AGM Trading Update

 

"Strong and improving overall demand"

 

Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer of photonic
components & systems, will hold its Annual General Meeting at 11.00am
today at the Company's headquarters in Ilminster, Somerset.

 

During the first four months of the financial year, we have seen strong and
improving levels of overall demand and the Group has a record order book
across its principal areas of business, industrial lasers, telecoms, A&D
and life sciences. There continues to be high demand for industrial lasers, in
particular for those used in semiconductor manufacturing, where a combination
of high market growth and our new products winning market share has led to
substantial growth. Hi-reliability fibre coupler demand remains robust for
undersea cables and increasingly for constellation space satellites. Medical
lasers continue to benefit from the return of elective surgery and demand for
our medical diagnostics products remains high.

 

As at 31 January 2022, our order book stood at a record £110.5 million (31
January 2021: £95.0 million), an increase of 16.3% compared with the same
time last year.

 

Pandemic- related factors have restrained trade during the period, these
include recruitment, self isolation and supply chain challenges. Mitigating
actions are in place. As a result, we expect trading to have a slightly higher
second half weighting than anticipated, but the full year outcome to remain
unchanged.

 

G&H has continued to invest in our increasingly productive R&D group
during the period. We have focused on delivering further innovation through
collaborations with the leading companies in their sector.

 

The Company remains in a strong financial position with a robust balance sheet
and low levels of net debt.

 

G&H remains committed to the long term goals of further diversification
into A&D and life sciences and moving up the value chain. We intend to
vigorously pursue these policies through internal investment and where
appropriate, acquisitions.

 

 

Mark Webster, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch & Housego, commented:

 

"During the first four months of the financial year we have seen strong and
improving levels of overall demand and a record order book across all our
principal areas of business. Trading during this period has been constrained
by pandemic related factors in some parts of our business, but our outlook for
the full year is unchanged.

 

"Fundamental demand for our photonic technologies and system capabilities is
strong and improving and we remain confident in the short and long term growth
potential for G&H in our target sectors."

 

 

 

 

A slide deck to accompany the AGM can be viewed at the investor section of the
Company's website, https://gandh.com/investors/

 

 For further information contact: -

 Mark Webster/Chris Jewell            Gooch & Housego PLC      01460 256440
 Mark Court/Sophie Wills              Buchanan                 020 7466 5000

 Chris Baird/ David Anderson          Investec Bank plc        020 7597 5970

 

Notes to editors

 

1.     Gooch & Housego is a photonics technology business
headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, UK with operations in the USA, Europe
and China. A world leader in its field, the company researches, designs,
engineers and manufactures advanced photonic systems, components and
instrumentation for applications in the Aerospace & Defence, Industrial,
Life Sciences and Scientific Research sectors. World leading design,
development and manufacturing expertise is offered across a broad range of
complementary technologies.

 

2.     All financial information included in this announcement is sourced
from unaudited management accounts and excludes any specific items. This
announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on
management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions about
future events.  These are subject to risk factors associated with, amongst
other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to
time in the countries and sectors in which G&H operates.  It is believed
that the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable but they
may be affected by a wide range of variables which could cause actual results,
and G&H's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those currently
anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.  Investors should
not place undue reliance on any such statements. Nothing in this announcement
should be construed as a profit forecast.

 

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