Orders flood into Spirent

Shares in telecom equipment tester Spirent moved up towards a 12-month high as it reported trading since July has exceeded its expectations. Order intake is up 27% year-on-year for the first nine months of 2010. Revenue has increased by 13% and operating profit has grown by 35% year-on-year. In the last three months, order intake growth rose by a third to $128.3m, with a book to bill ratio of 104 compared to 94 in the third quarter 2009. Revenue rose by 20% to $123.3m, with operating profits up 33% to $29m. Basic earnings per share rose 8% to 2.92c. "The market demand for data connectivity is driving the pace of innovation creating the need for new test solutions which Spirent is well placed to serve. The momentum that we gained in the first half year has continued through the third quarter and we look forward to a positive finish for the full year."