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(Alliance News) - Oxford Instruments PLC on Tuesday said it remains confident in its outlook for the full-year, following a rise in profit and revenue for the first half.
For the six months ended September 30, the Abingdon, England-headquartered company, which makes products, systems and tools for research and industry, reported a pretax profit of GBP21.4 million, up 5.9% from GBP20.2 million the same period a year before.
This was on revenue which grew 21% year-on-year to GBP170.1 million from GBP140.3 million, driven by stronger performances from all segments, particularly Materials & Characterisation, which prospered from increased demand from semiconductor, electronics and advanced materials end markets.
Revenue for the period also exceeded the GBP166.3 million figure given for the first half of the 2019 financial year by 7.9%.
Oxford's order book rose 13% to GBP198.3 million from GBP175.7 million year-on-year, reflecting higher demand from commercial customers, as well as academic and government-funded institutions. Compared to the first half of 2019, orders increased 26%.
The company declared an interim dividend of 4.4 pence per share, up 7.3% from 4.1p a year prior.
Looking ahead, Oxford said that despite supply chain pressures moderating the conversion of orders into revenue in the second half, the company's strong opportunity pipeline and order book is expected to provide good momentum going into the second half.
As a result, Oxford's expectations for further progress in the year remain unchanged. For the year ending March 31, 2022, analyst consensus has adjusted operating profit at GBP62.9 million, reflecting an 11% rise from GBP56.7 million the year before.
"We have emerged from the pandemic a stronger, more focused and efficient business, even more aligned to the needs of our customers in end markets with structural growth drivers. We are increasing our investment to take advantage of these growth opportunities, providing the foundation for good growth and medium-term margin expansion," said Chief Executive Ian Barkshire.
Shares in Oxford Instruments were down 0.8% at 2,380.00 pence on Tuesday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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