LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Specialist photonic components manufacturer Gooch & Housego announced on Friday that trading in the six months to 31 March was in line with management's expectations.
The AIM-traded firm said it expected full-year trading to be in line with its expectations, with a typical higher second half weighting.

In its 21 February AGM trading update, the company reported that it had benefited from positive overall market conditions.

On Friday, it said that remained the case, and there continued to be exceptional levels of demand for critical components used in microelectronic manufacturing.

As it had previously reported, the demand for high reliability fibre couplers had been at a lower level since the start of the year, but the board said it continued to expect demand to come back in the second half of the year.

Gooch & Housego's order book was at a record level for the half year.

As at 31 March, it stood at £84.7m, an increase of 27.1% compared with the same time last year.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, that represented an increase of 36.4%.

As it had previously reported, G&H's manufacturing sites were reorganised into three technical groups - namely Acousto Optic/Electro Optic, Precision Optic and Fibre Optic.

The board said that was part of becoming a more scalable organisation able to accommodate the anticipated growth rates.

There had already been benefits, as the company upgraded capacity and performance at those sites manufacturing critical parts for the microelectronic sector.

The company's interim results for the six months ended 31 March were expected to be announced on 5 June.

"Overall market conditions remain good," said chief executive Mark Webster.

"We have a record half year order book and full year trading is expected to be in line with management's expectations."

Webster said the introduction of a new manufacturing organisation had enabled the company to more readily upgrade capacity and performance, in particular at its Ilminster and Fremont, California sites, in order to meet the unprecedented levels of demand in the microelectronic sector.

"G&H remains committed to our strategy of diversification and moving up the value chain.

"We have an active policy of building a diverse and balanced business by establishing a 'critical mass' in A&D and life sciences, through investing in a mix of R&D and acquisitions.

"A&D now represents about a third of our business."

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