XP Power begins second half with 'strong' order book

(Sharecast News) - XP Power reported a strong first half performance on Monday, with continued momentum in orders and revenues as new design wins enter production amidst a buoyant global market for capital equipment.Revenues increased 16.2% in the six months ended 30 June to £93.2m on an 8.5% higher order intake of £101.4m.Adjusted pre-tax profits jumped 17.3% to £20.3m as gross margins remained broadly flat on 46.7%.XP's product revenues, which now represent 78% of total revenues, increased 20% on a reported basis to a record £72.6m.The AIM-listed firm stated that overall momentum had continued to build throughout the half as its book to bill ratio contracted to 1.09 from the 1.16 figure posted a year earlier, setting the group up for a second half with a strong order book of £85.5m.XP also highlighted that its acquisition of Glassman HV for $44.5m had added a "highly complementary product set" of high voltage, high power products to its portfolio, expanding its addressable market "significantly".James Peters, XP's chairman, said, "Our strong performance is enabling us to invest part of the cash generated from this revenue growth to expand our engineering capabilities by acquisition.""While we remain conscious of potential risks arising from component cost inflation and, macroeconomic challenges, our strong order book, combined with design wins over recent years entering production, means that the board continues to anticipate that the group's performance for the full year will be in line with its existing expectation," added Peters.As of 1000 BST, XP Power shares had climbed 2.66% to 3,664.80p.