Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - XP Power Ltd on Monday said trading in the final month of its fourth quarter was in line with board's expectations.
At the beginning of December, the critical power control components manufacturer said it experienced some short-term disruptions to shipments in October and November, which was expected to result in revenue and adjusted pretax profit for 2019 being below current market consensus.
"Order intake in the fourth quarter was strong with an acceleration in December of the trends seen earlier in the quarter. The improvement was seen across all of our sectors," XP Power said on Monday.
The company added: "The group's new Enterprise Resource Planning system is working well and the group has continued to ship at or above normal rates since mid-November."
The company said it recorded GBP58.6 million orders in the fourth quarter, 30% higher than the GBP45.1 million seen the year before. Orders for 2019 are expected up 8.4% year-on-year to GBP215.1 million from GBP198.4 million.
Revenue in the fourth quarter, however, is expected is to be down 2.7% on the year before at GBP47.7 million from GBP49.0 million. For 2019, revenue is expected to rise 2.7% to GBP200.4 million from GBP195.1 million.
"Order intake for the fourth quarter was strong and we remain encouraged by the healthy order book and ongoing new design wins. On this basis we expect revenue growth in the 2020 financial year," XP Power added.
XP Power also noted its expects to declare a final dividend of no less than 36 pence per share, giving a minimum total dividend of 91p - representing a 7.1% rise on the year before.
The company is scheduled to release its 2019 results on March 3.
Shares in XP Power were 3.9% higher in London on Monday morning at 3,329.40 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
