Solid State Share News (SOLI)

(Alliance News) - Solid State PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit rose in its most recent year thanks to strong organic growth from its Value Added Distribution division and its acquisition of Pacer Technologies Ltd.

Shares in Solid State were down 8.7% at 450.00 pence in morning trade.

The communications, computing, and power products manufacturer's profit for the financial year that ended March 31 was GBP2.8 million, a 12% rise from GBP2.5 million the year before.

Revenue was boosted by Value Added Distribution, which had "close to 25% organic growth" and also benefited from the GBP3.7 million acquisition of medical optoelectronics firm Pacer in November 2018, Solid State said.

Overall, revenue climbed 22% to GBP56.3 million from GBP46.3 million, but this was somewhat offset by a 32% rise in sales, general and administrative expenses to GBP13.5 million from GBP10.2 million.

"Our strategy is to deliver growth both organically and through acquisition. These results illustrate our success in both aspects, and our continued commitment to deliver on this strategy and our aspiration to double the size of the business," said Solid State Chair Tony Frere.

"The group open order book at 31 May 2019 was up 56% on the prior year at GBP35.9 million. The acquisition of Pacer has been a large contributor, however like for like, the proforma open order book was still up 20%. This gives the board confidence that the group remains on track to deliver in-line with our expectations," Frere added.

Including a final recommended dividend of 8.3 pence, the company has upped its annual dividend by 4.2% to 12.5 pence per share from 12 pence per share the year prior.