Filtronic announces significant contract win

Aerospace, defence and telecoms infrastructure company and space-related products specialist Filtronic announced a significant contract win on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said it had secured a contract valued at an initial $6m (£4.8m ) with an unnamed global provider of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications equipment.

It said the contract, with revenue expected to be recognised by the end of the 2024 calendar year, pertaining to the production and delivery of Filtronic's Cerus32 solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) module, the second generation of the technology.

The SSPA modules would be integrated into specific ground station locations for the customer's earth station antenna deployment.

It said the ground stations would facilitate full E-band connectivity to the ever-expanding array of E-band-enabled LEO satellites.

The board said the Cerus Power Module stood out because it uses Filtronic's unique MMIC chip design and proprietary power-combining techniques.

That resulted in a compact amplifier module with scalable output powers from 4W to over 20W at E-band frequencies.

Filtronic's collaboration with the customer enabled the acceleration of the Cerus technology roadmap, progressing from the initial Cerus16 units supplied in early 2023 to the current Cerus32 module, optimised for enhanced power output and ease of field deployment.

While the immediate focus was meeting the demand for Cerus32 SSPA modules under the contract, Filtronic said it was committed to further developing the Cerus SSPA platform.

The commitment stemmed from the customer's exploration of opportunities for higher power capabilities and the exploration of alternative frequency bands.

"We are delighted to continue our partnership with the leading global provider of LEO satellites and are pleased to supply production volumes of the Cerus32 SSPA module for deployment in its ground station antenna network," said chief executive officer Richard Gibbs.

"The customer has always valued the flexibility of the Cerus32 design and, with this new contract, is keen to take advantage of the scalable form factor and the additional power our second-generation E-band product provides."

At 1237 GMT, shares in Filtronic were up 7.95% at 22.67p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.