Gooch & Housego PLC AGM Trading Update (4434F)
February 21 2018 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMGHH
RNS Number : 4434F
Gooch & Housego PLC
21 February 2018
For immediate release 21 February 2018
Gooch & Housego PLC
("G&H" or the "Company")
AGM Trading Update
"Full year trading remains in line with management's
expectations"
Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer
of photonic components & systems, will hold its Annual General
Meeting at 11.00 am this morning at the Company's headquarters in
Ilminster, Somerset. G&H's Chairman Gareth Jones will provide
the following update on trading performance.
The Company has benefited from positive overall market
conditions in the first four months of the current financial year
and expects full year trading to be in line with management's
expectations, with a typically higher H2 weighting. We are
experiencing exceptional demand for critical components used in
microelectronic manufacturing. There has been a slowing in demand
for high reliability fibre couplers since the start of the year,
but it is expected to come back in the second half of the year.
Our order book has reached record levels. As at 31 January 2018,
it stood at GBP89.7 million, an increase of 48.4% compared with the
same time last year. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange and
acquisitions this represents an increase of 49.2%.
As previously mentioned, our ten manufacturing sites have been
organised into three manufacturing centres, based on our areas of
technical expertise, namely Acousto Optic / Electro Optic,
Precision Optic and Fibre Optic. This is part of our drive to
create a more scalable organisational model for our future growth.
We have already seen some benefits from this approach as we
continue to upgrade capacity and performance to meet current high
levels of demand for critical components used in microelectronic
manufacturing.
The Company has undertaken a review of the likely outcomes of
the recent US Tax Reforms. Our expectation is that these will
result in a one-off, non-cash benefit to the income statement of
circa GBP0.5 million resulting from the revaluation of deferred tax
liabilities. In addition, we expect the underlying effective tax
rate to fall by 3% to 24% in FY2018 and thereafter to be around 23%
on a full year basis.
G&H remains in a strong financial position and intends to
make further investment in the business.
Mark Webster, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch & Housego,
commented:
"Overall market conditions for the first four months of the year
have been good, we have a record order book and full year trading
remains in line with management's expectations.
"As previously announced Gary Bullard will be appointed to the
Board as Non-Executive Chairman after the AGM and the Board looks
forward to benefiting from his counsel and expertise. At the
conclusion of today's AGM Gareth Jones will step down from the
Board after almost 37 years of service with the Company.
"I would like to thank Gareth both personally and on behalf of
G&H for his wisdom and guidance over the past three years as
Chairman and for his immense contribution to G&H's growth as a
business over many years."
For further information
contact: -
Mark Webster / Andrew Gooch & Housego
Boteler PLC 01460 256440
Mark Court / Sophie
Wills Buchanan 020 7466 5000
Patrick Robb / David Investec Bank
Anderson 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
and Europe. 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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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