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Gooch & Housego PLC on Tuesday said it expects to report full-year revenue and pretax profit in line with market expectations, after stronger trading in the second half of its financial year. The Somerset, England-based photonics components and systems manufacturer said trading levels improved in the second half of the year that ended September 30, as its aerospace & defence order book grew following increased demand from both commercial and defence customers. Shares in Gooch & Housego were up 7.2% at 421.34 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. In its industrial markets, volumes of fibre optic modules and assemblies used grew in the second half compared to the first, though revenue from industrial laser customers remained broadly flat across both halves. The company recognised ‘early signs’ of growing demand and expects the broader industrial laser and semiconductor market to recover in the second half of the upcoming calendar year. Gooch & Housego said volumes from its Ashford facility for medical diagnostic instruments increased in the second half of the year as a result of the phasing of customers’ programmes. Delivery for its medical laser customers began to recover in the company’s second half, as its ‘prolonged destocking cycle’ started to come to an end. Chief Executive Officer Charlie Peppiatt said: ‘Following the first-half result, the group recovered well in the second half to deliver the expected increase in output. Whilst we do not expect to see our industrial laser and semi-conductor markets return to growth until next year, we are seeing strong demand for our advanced optical systems capabilities from the defence sector and there are significant new business opportunities that we are working hard to secure. ‘We continue to make progress on delivering the self-help, technology and portfolio activities that underpin our strategic plan. We saw further improvement with on-time delivery performance in financial 2024 and customer feedback is now trending in a positive direction. The group is now better positioned to benefit from the anticipated sustained recovery from our end markets next year thanks to the disciplined implementation of our strategy.’ The company will announce its full annual results on December 3. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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