Spirent Communications posts jump in H1 profits

Spirent Communications posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue on Thursday as it hailed a record order book and a strong performance across all of its end markets.

In the six months to 30 June, adjusted pre-tax profit was up 11% at £49.2m, on revenue of £280.1m, ahead 10% compared to the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the order book rose 12% to £295.5m.

Spirent highlighted a strong performance across all end markets, with 5G once again proving to be "a strong, enduring growth driver", with more than 350 new contracts from more than 130 customers in the first half.

Revenues in the Lifecycle Service Assurance division were up 10%, while Networks & Security saw a 9% increase. Spirent said Lifecycle Service Assurance revenue growth was driven by demand for its VisionWorks live network solution offering, as customers invested to verify and assure their 5G networks. The group also noted strong demand for its 5G device test solutions.

The growth in Networks & Security came mainly from the core high-speed Ethernet business, driven by network and data centre upgrades and strong 800G demand.

Chief executive officer Eric Updyke said: "Spirent delivered another half year of strong performance with double-digit growth in orders, revenue and profit. We are executing well on our strategy of moving deeper into the exciting structural growth areas of our industry, from wireless 5G networks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud assurance."