Gooch & Housego shares tank as demand declines

Photonics manufacturer Gooch & Housego warned investors on Tuesday that it had seen a downturn in demand for its products in the first four months of its trading year.

G&H said the business had seen lower demand for its critical components used in industrial lasers for microelectronic manufacturing, particularly from China but noted that demand for its fibre optic products and hi-reliability fibre couplers had "strengthened still further".

The AIM-listed group also warned that uncertainty, particularly in the Chinese market, had meant that excess inventory in its supply chain could now take longer than expected to normalise.

Looking forward, G&H believes timing and mix will result in its full-year trading performance showing a "low single-digit growth".

Chief executive Mark Webster said: "G&H has long been aware of the risks associated with the cyclical nature of the microelectronics sector and more recently with the impact of the US/ China tariffs.

"We are currently experiencing a cyclical downturn in demand for industrial lasers used in microelectronic manufacturing, though we expect it to pick up during the second half of our financial year."

As of 0910 GMT, G&H shares had tumbled 21.89% to 1,160p.