Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Oxford Instruments PLC on Tuesday posted substantial annual profit growth and brought its dividend above pre-pandemic levels.
Oxford Instruments is an Abingdon, England-headquartered company that makes products, systems and tools for scientific research and industry.
Pretax profit jumped 35% to GBP52.2 million in the financial year that ended March 31, helped by a foreign exchange gain of GBP7.3 million versus a loss of GBP1.4 million a year ago. The earnings jump was bolstered by solid growth in North America and Asia, offset by a modest decline in Europe.
Revenue crept up 0.3% to GBP318.5 million, while growth on a constant-currency basis was 1.7%. The company noted this was against a "challenging backdrop", while order growth was strong at 5.3% to GBP353.7 million.
Oxford Instruments will pay a dividend for the year of 17.0 pence, after deciding not to pay anything for the previous financial year due to Covid-19 uncertainty. For the financial year that ended in 2019, it paid out a dividend of 14.4p.
Shares in Oxford Instruments were down 0.2% to 2,140.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
"We delivered strong order, profit, and margin growth, with revenue slightly ahead of the previous year. The momentum in orders reflected the underlying strength and breadth of our chosen end markets and their fundamental growth drivers. Increased profit and margins were supported by tangible gains realised as a direct result of the improved commercial processes and operational efficiencies that we have implemented through Horizon," the company said.
Oxford Instruments said that, with its robust performance, strong order book and diversified end-markets position, it is well positioned for progress in the year ahead despite anticipated currency headwinds and ongoing coronavirus uncertainty.
The strength of Oxford Instruments' order book provides"increased visibility for the year ahead" it said, growing 13% in the past year to GBP198.1 million. Total orders of GBP353.7 million grew by 5.3%, an increase of 6.7% at constant currency, driven by growth from both commercial and academic customers.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
