Solid State scores profit and revenue growth following Pacer acquisition

Solid State on Tuesday reported double digit growth in annual profits and revenue with the company's results boosted by the acquisition of Pacer Group.

The computing, power and communications products manufacturer's profit before tax came in at £2.8m for the year ended 31 March, for an increase of 13% compared to the year before, as revenue jumped by 22% to £56.3m as gross margin improved from 30.6% to 35.6%.

Consequently, the AIM traded company raised its dividend by 4% to 12.5p per share.

Solid State acquired opto-electronics firm Pacer Group in early November for £3.8m as part of its strategy to deliver growth both organically and through acquisitions.

Tony Frere, chairman of Solid State, said: "These results illustrate our success in both aspects, and our continued commitment to deliver on this strategy and our aspiration to double the size of the business. The group open order book at 31 May 2019 was up 56% on the prior year at £35.9m. The acquisition of Pacer has been a large contributor, however like for like, the proforma open order book was still up 20%."

Frere added that this has given the board confidence that Solid State remains on track to deliver current year results in-line with expectations.

Solid State's shares were down 8.32% at 452.00p at 1204 BST.