LONDON (ShareCast) - Gooch & Housego posted a 23.5% rise in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit on Tuesday, driven by a strong performance in the company's industrial division.
Pre-tax profit came in at £6.3m from £5.1m in the same period a year ago, while revenue rose 13.1% to £38.9m from £34.4m.

In the industrial segment, revenue was up 18% on the corresponding period last year, driven by strong demand for solid state and fibre optic lasers to service micro-electronic materials processing applications.

The company, which makes optical components, declared an interim dividend of 3p per share, up from 2.6p in 2014.

Chief executive Mark Webster said: "Gooch & Housego has performed well in the first six months of the financial year against a background of generally improving market conditions."

"We remain focused on delivering our financial goals through our twin strategies of diversification and moving up the value chain. The new management team has put in place a performance improvement programme prioritising operational excellence, business development and R&D; it is progressing well and will help underpin future performance."

At 10:40, shares were down 1% at 785p.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE