LONDON (Alliance News) - Laird PLC Thursday reiterated its expectations for the full year and posted a rise in pretax profit for its first half, as revenue was boosted by more favourable exchange rates and a full contribution from its acquisition of Model Solution last year.
The technology company proposed an interim dividend of 4.40 pence, up from 4.27 pence a year before.
Laird posted a pretax profit of GBP21.6 million for the half year to end-June, up from GBP16.0 million a year before, as revenue rose to GBP305.9 million from GBP252.6 million.
In sterling terms, revenue rose 21%, helped by a more favourable exchange rate for the US dollar relative to sterling. In dollar terms, revenue rose 11%.
In Laird's Performance Materials segment, revenue for shielding products in smartphones rose 39%, whilst shielding services for automotives continued to grow. The overall performance for its thermal product range was marginally lower, hampered by lower revenue from telecoms mobile infrastructure in the second quarter.
In Wireless Systems, revenue growth was boosted by a strong performance from Laird's telematics/ machine-to-machine business, and by a good performance for its Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi connectivity control products.
"The investment we have made in our people, technology, systems and facilities is delivering operational improvements. This has helped us win new business and contributed to a strong first half. As a result of this progress, our expectations for the full year remain unchanged," said Chief Executive David Lockwood in a statement.
Shares in Laird are up 4.7% at 366.30 pence Thursday morning, the third biggest gainer in the FTSE 250.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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