Oxford Instruments FY results to beat market views

Oxford Instruments said on Tuesday that its full-year performance is set to be a "little behind" last year at constant currency but ahead of analyst forecasts, as it reported a decline in half-year profit and revenue due to the pandemic.

In the six months to 30 September, adjusted pre-tax profit fell 8.1% to £23.7m on revenue of £140.3m, down 11% from the same period a year ago. Revenue was hit by Covid-related disruption to the fulfilment of customer orders, the company said.

Orders were up, however, rising 6% to £175.7m, reflecting strong growth from commercial customers and improved demand from academic and government-funded institutions.

Oxford Instruments said it saw strong growth across the semiconductor & communications, quantum technology and advanced materials segments, partially offset by lower contributions from the healthcare & lifescience, energy & environment and research & fundamental science segments.

The group, which provides high technology products to industrial companies and scientific research communities, declared an interim dividend of 4.1p a share, in line with last year.

"We are adjusting to the external and internal effects of the pandemic and expect uncertainty to remain high. However, robust trading during the first half, combined with a strong order book, gives us confidence for the second half, absent a material increase in Covid‑related disruption that could impact facility or customer site access," it said.

"We expect full-year performance to be a little behind last year on a constant currency basis, ahead of current analyst forecasts."

At 1020 GMT, the shares were up 9.2% at 1,924p.