REG - Gooch & Housego PLC - Half Year Trading Update

Gooch & HousegoAnnouncement

Today 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260409:nRSI6990Za&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6990Z  Gooch & Housego PLC  09 April 2026

 

 For immediate release  9 April 2026

 

Gooch & Housego PLC

('G&H' or the 'Group')

 

H1 2026 Trading Update
and
Notice of Interim Results

 

'Trading in line with management's expectations'

 

Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer of photonic
components and systems, is pleased to provide the following trading update for
the six-months ended 31 March 2026 ('H1 2026' or the 'period').

 

Trading

 

Revenue for H1 2026 was £81.9 million (H1 2025: £70.8 million), an increase
of 9.1% on an organic, constant currency basis. Demand from the Group's
Aerospace and Defence market has continued to be strong and is growing.
Revenue from the Group's industrial laser and semiconductor markets improved
during H1 2026 with encouraging signs that the recovery in semiconductor is
now underway. We continue to expect a sustained recovery in these markets.

 

During H1 2026, the Group's order book increased to £167.3 million (30
September 2025: £142.3 million). The increase on a constant currency basis
was 16.5%. The level of enquiries for the Group's products and services
remains high, especially from both existing and new defence equipment
customers, supported by the broader capability and capacity now available
following the acquisitions of Global Photonics and Phoenix Optical during the
last financial year.

 

The integration of these two acquisitions is proceeding to plan, with the
combined capabilities of both as part of G&H being critical to help secure
new orders from Defence customers in the US, UK and Europe. Capacity is being
expanded at both businesses in response to significantly increased demand,
utilising the existing footprint at each site and in line with the year's
expected capital expenditure.

 

The Group has proactively managed the re-sourcing of key raw materials used
across several of its production processes where availability has been
restricted by retaliatory measures from certain nations in response to US
tariffs. Despite the situation remaining fluid, with supply lumpy and
intermittent, the Group has navigated these challenges in H1 2026 and remains
vigilant around supply chain, operations and inventory planning going
forwards.

 

The Group continues to maintain a strong financial position with a robust
balance sheet. As at 31 March 2026, net debt excluding lease liabilities was
£37.0 million (31 March 2025: £24.1 million and 30 September 2025: £29.9
million) and the Group had £15.7 million available to draw upon to fund its
future growth activities.

 

The Group continues to expect trading for FY 2026 to be in line with
management's expectations.

 

Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

 

As previously announced, James Corte, an experienced finance executive with a
track record in the industrial and defence sectors, has today joined the Group
as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director.

 

Notice of Interim Results

 

The Group will announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 March
2026 on 2 June 2026.

 

Charlie Peppiatt, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch & Housego, commented:

 

"I am pleased with the positive progress that G&H has made in the first
half of the financial year. The strong order book growth in the period
demonstrates the increased confidence our customers have in G&H to provide
them with their most complex photonics and optical systems requirements.
Whilst there are significant macroeconomic uncertainties, the recovery in our
Industrial and Semiconductor markets along with the strong growth in demand
from our Aerospace and Defence markets should allow the Group to make further
positive progress on our journey to mid-teens returns over the medium term."

 

- Ends -

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Charlie Peppiatt, Chief Executive Officer                  Gooch & Housego PLC      +44 (0)1460 256440

 James Corte, Chief Financial Officer

 Henry Harrison-Topham / Sophie Wills / Abigail Gilchrist   Burson Buchanan          +44 (0)20 7466 5000

 G&H@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:G&H@buchanan.uk.com)

 Christopher Baird / David Anderson                         Investec Bank plc        +44 (0)20 7597 5970

 

 

Notes to editors

 

Gooch & Housego is a photonics technology business headquartered in
Ilminster, Somerset, UK with operations in the USA and Europe. A world leader
in its field, the Group 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.

 

For more information, please visit www.gandh.com (http://www.gandh.com) .

 

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.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTSSMFIAEMSEDL



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved