Gooch & Housego FY performance 'slightly ahead' of expectations

Photonic components and systems manufacturer Gooch & Housego said on Tuesday that it had traded "slightly ahead of expectations" in the year ended 30 September.

Gooch & Housego stated its trading performance in the second half of the financial year had been boosted by further strengthening in end-market demand, despite currency headwinds and supply chain constraints.

The AIM-listed firm said industrial laser demand continued to be "strong", most notably in the semiconductor market where it had identified "a range of growth opportunities".

Life science markets were said to be performing well, with demand for its medical diagnostics remaining at previous high levels and orders for its specialist medical laser products were also strong as the market began to recover from the low levels of elective surgery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, G&H, which completed "a number of significant deliveries" to its aerospace and defence customers, cautioned that it does not expect commercial aerospace volumes to recover until 2023.

"G&H's strong revenue performance in the second half of the financial year together with the benefits of our streamlining programme mean that group profits are expected to be slightly ahead of management's previous expectations," said the company.

"There remains susbstantial long-term growth potential for our photonic technologies and system capabilities in all of our target sectors. G&H is well placed to execute on acquisitions that support our strategy."

As of 1320 BST, G&H shares were up 1.11% at 1,279.0p.