Oxford Instruments FY trading seen 'towards the lower end' of expectations

Manufacturing and research company Oxford Instruments said on Thursday that it had seen "robust overall demand and order book visibility" but warned that its full-year trading performance was still anticipated to be "towards the lower end of expectations".

Oxford Instruments said revenue in the six months ended 31 September was ahead of the first half of last year, with "particularly good growth" in research and discovery. However, growth in its materials and characterisation unit was tempered by "some softness in higher margin segments".

Orders for the first half of the financial year were expected to be "slightly behind a strong comparator period", which saw growth of 18.7%, with some timing delays to anticipated customer orders impacting the first half.

The FTSE 250-listed firm also said a currency headwind and continued investment in infrastructure, operational capability and capacity meant that interim adjusted operating profits will be broadly in line with last year, something it anticipates will result in a "slightly reduced margin" for the half.

"While we remain mindful of the current macro-economic and political climate, our order book for the remainder of FY23/24 is strong and supported by a robust pipeline," said Oxford Instruments.

"Our operational improvement programme is expected to support an increase in production alongside our normal seasonal second-half weighting. This provides good visibility for an expected improvement in trading, with full-year trading towards the lower end of expectations."

As of 0825 BST, Oxford Instruments shares were down 4.84% at 1,946.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com