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H1 results did not disappoint and ghh will now go from strength to strength with the US CHIPS and Science Act now passed bringing chip manufacturing back to the western world to protect cyber security and military applications and the new push in AI making my future investment here sound. The future is so bright I gotta wear shades..
Absolute gift of an entry level top up time.
Gooch & Housego [LON:GHH], the specialist manufacturers of photonic components and systems, has issued a six month trading update today. Production capacity has been increased to reduce order backlogs, with revenue for the half year expected to be £71m against a comparative of £54m, with the order book now standing at £124m, broadly in line with the position from a year ago. Full year performance is expected to be in line with expectations.
GHH's defence and aerospace businesses are getting a lot of interest just now and this will only increase exponentially with western countries spending in both set to rocket due to the challenges facing world order. Meanwhile their 3rd industrial arm is getting a boost with new orders from laser engine tech in the wind turbine and carbon dioxide industrial lasers. There is also a medical diagnostic instrument order on the cards from a US based OEM customer. Back to £10 soon imho.
Medical Hyperspectral Imaging (MHSI) Market Booming Worldwide With Leading Key Players -Headwall Photonics, Resonon, IMEC, EVK DI Kerschhaggl, Cubert, Galileo, Specim, Gooch & Housego, Surface Optics, Norsk Elektro Optikk A/S, Wayho Technology, BaySpec
The relationship with ghh is thus
Rheinmetall Electronics UK (REUK) has awarded a £4.1M Challenger 3 contract to G&H for the supply of a custom specific variant of the Embedded Image Periscope (EIP) for integration into the Trailblazer Driver Vision System.
Another significant milestone has been achieved by the Challenger 3 Delivery Team within budget and ahead of schedule – we are moving closer to delivering one of the most capable and lethal tanks in Europe.
Challenger 3 teams from DE&S’ Land Equipment Operating Centre and the British Army, together with our industry partners Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) have been working to progress the CR3 programme at pace, and we can now announce that we have approved the Critical Design Review (CDR) ahead of schedule. This follows the Initial Design Review (IDR) held in March 2022 and is the culmination of an enormous amount of collaborative work. This CDR means that the design for the tanks has been agreed and that RBSL can now start building the CR3 prototypes.
The work was carried out under an £800M contract which was awarded to RBSL in 2021 to deliver 148 upgraded, fully digitalised battle tanks to the British Army. Supply-chain sub-contracts have now been awarded to UK supply chain companies, contributing to the government’s levelling up agenda. Following two key design reviews, work to modernise and expand RBSL’s production facility in Telford – which will also manufacture Boxer vehicles – is now almost complete.”
The above is a brief sumamry of what is involved in coverting tanks to ‘Challenger 3’ standard.
In a news release, they add that the fully digitalised tanks will benefit from the following:
a new 120mm smoothbore gun which uses the most advanced globally available ammunition
a new suite of sights providing tank commanders with enhanced day and night targeting abilities
a new armour solution
an active protection system
a turret that can be fitted to the tanks of allies and global partners
Significantly improved mobility through an upgraded engine and new hydrogas suspension
Taken from an interview with the CEO of ghh published on Dec 2022 :-
'According to the latest results presentation, industrial applications now account for just over half of the firm’s sales, with the remainder split evenly between life sciences, and aerospace and defense.
Looking ahead, Peppiatt says that “demand fundamentals” remain strong across all three of those key market sectors, with new program wins in defense applications, and demand for specialist industrial lasers rebounding in support of 5G infrastructure roll-out and advanced semiconductor production.
“We can see that the conflict in Ukraine has reinforced the continuing importance of armored systems in modern warfare,” noted the CEO in his statement, with orders for programs intended to replenish equipment that has been provided to the country following Russia’s invasion.
Key wins are said to include a “significant position” on the UK MoD’s program to update the optical sensor suite for its Challenger tank program, while solid demand for gimballed optical arrays produced in New Hampshire are anticipated in both Europe and Asia.
Escalating geopolitical tensions have also prompted some huge investments to re-establish high-volume chip manufacturing in Europe and the US, something that could benefit G&H in the medium term.
Outlining what he sees as the promising areas for business growth, Peppiatt highlighted opportunities in components and modules needed for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment in semiconductor wafer processing, fiber-optic modules and subsystems for lidar sensing and optical satellite communications, and biomedical imaging systems for diagnosing cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Other key areas are thought to include photonics systems for ophthalmology equipment, optical components for gimbals in military drones, and multi-band periscopes and sighting systems for armored vehicles.'
Several of Zeus's top 10 ideas for 2023 are recovery plays, which is hardly surprising given the sell-offs experienced last year. Shares in Gooch & Housego (GHH) more than halved after the optical technology specialist struggled to find enough staff and components to meet demand. However, the orders kept flowing and restructuring processes have made savings. The strategic review currently being undertaken by new CEO Charlie Peppiatt (formerly of Stadium and TT Electronics) "should add impetus to the recovery and growth strategy", the broker argued. The sell-off also mean GHH shares are trading at a discount to their long-run average.