Gooch & Housego Regulatory News (GHH)

13 Feb 2008 11:00

Gooch & Housego PLC13 February 2008 For Immediate Release 13 February 2008 Gooch & Housego PLC (The "Company") Progress Update for Today's Annual General Meeting Gooch and Housego PLC, the specialist manufacturer of optical components andsystems, today announces a progress up-date. After a slower start to the year, demand is strengthening and order intakeduring the first few weeks of 2008 has been encouraging. Several of our keyQ-switch customers have placed long term (12 to 24 month) orders and we havealso secured a number of important design wins, most notably for fibre opticcomponents and modules from markets as diverse as biomedical,telecommunications, aerospace and defence. As a result, our order backlog is 14%higher today than it was at this time last year, and more than 15% higher thanat 1st October 2007. While the outlook remains favourable, sales of our acousto-optic products duringthe first quarter were lower than for the same period last year. The indicationsare that this was a temporary slowing of demand brought about by higher thannormal inventory levels at some of our customers, the cyclical nature of certainkey markets (semiconductors and microelectronics) and the uncertain economicclimate. We are now working to make up the ground lost in the first quarter andwe are expecting improved revenues in the second half of the year. Last month we launched our new, integrated components and materials businesscombining the activities of Gooch & Housego UK, Cleveland Crystals, NEOSTechnologies, Landwehr Electronics and SIFAM Fibre Optics. As a $60 millionannual revenue global optoelectronics business, we have enhanced our marketpresence, extended our global reach and reinforced our position as a leader inour field. The integration was well received by customers, who are supported bya new 18 strong sales and product management team, including newly opened salesoffices on the West Coast of the USA and in Hong Kong. As a fully integrated business we have also been able to embark on important newproduct development programmes that draw upon skills from several of ouroperating locations. The first products will be available towards the end ofthis calendar year and are expected to make an immediate contribution torevenues. In addition to organic growth via new product introductions, we arecontinuing to take a proactive approach to acquisitions in order to facilitateaccess to new markets. To support our growth plans we are creating additional manufacturing capacity.We recently began the relocation to our new factory in Ilminster which will morethan double usable manufacturing space. In Torquay we have embarked on a factoryextension that will provide 35% more space. In summary, despite a slower start to the year, we remain optimistic about thelong term prospects for Gooch & Housego based on the feedback we are receivingfrom our customers and supported by changes we have introduced in recent monthsto strengthen the business and our market position. Contacts: Gareth Jones, Chief Executive Officer, 01460 52271 Tim Thompson, Buchanan Communication Ltd, 020 7466 5000 Andrew Edwards, Oriel Securities Limited, 020 7710 7600 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange