LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Photonic components and systems company Gooch & Housego reported a 1.6% rise in revenue in its annual results on Tuesday, to £124.1m, or up by 6.4% excluding foreign exchange.
The AIM-traded firm said new products contributed a record £18.1m of revenue in the 12 months ended 30 September, compared to £16.9m in the 2020 financial year.

Adjusted profit before tax was up 29.4% to £12.6m, while reported profit before tax was down 13.2% year-on-year at £4.7m.

Gooch & Housego reported a "strong" cash flow over the year, leading to further debt reduction, with net debt excluding IFRS16 standing at £2.6m at year-end, down from £6.5m a year earlier.

The board said that placed the company in a "strong position" to pursue strategic goals.

It also announced the return of its progressive dividend policy, with a proposed full-year dividend of 12.2p, after the firm made nil distributions in the 2020 financial year.

Gooch & Housego reported a year-end order book of £97.8m, up 5.6%, or 8.6% excluding foreign exchange.

Industrial and medical lasers were demonstrating a "sustained recovery", while telecommunications and medical diagnostics were continuing to perform at a "high level", the directors said.

"Trading during the year reflected a sustained recovery in the industrial and medical laser markets and a robust performance from telecommunications and medical diagnostics," said chief executive officer Mark Webster.

"An increasingly productive research and development group delivered record levels of new product revenue during the year.

"There was some drag on the group's overall performance due to currency headwinds, self-isolation requirements and supply chain issues in parts of the business as we emerged from the pandemic."

Webster said it was, however, a "far better" business environment than last year, with the company expecting further improvement in the future.

"Our restructuring programme is enhancing the group's margins and enabling us to better respond to our customers' needs.

"We are committed to vigorously pursuing our long term strategic goals and will continue to invest in research and development and where appropriate, acquisitions.

"The board remains confident that Gooch & Housego is well-positioned to deliver further progress in the 2022 financial year, and substantial long-term growth."

At 0938 GMT, shares in Gooch & Housego were down 1.79% at 1,100p.

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