Strong defence demand boosts Ultra Electronics first half

Strong demand from defence markets helped Ultra Electronics deliver better-than-expected first-half profits on Monday as it lifted its dividend by 5%.

The company said pre-tax profits for the six months to March 31 rose 18% to £56.5m. Its order book rose 8.3% to £1.2bn, offsetting a 2% decline in revenue to £404m.

On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits soared to £46.2m from £29.8m a year ago. An interim dividend of 16.2p per share, up 5.2% year-on-year, was declared.

“We delivered good underlying revenue growth in the period and operational performance was strong, despite the mainly Covid-19 driven operational inefficiencies in Maritime which have now been broadly resolved,” chief executive Simon Pryce said.

“Our strong first half demonstrates the benefits of Ultra's strategic re-positioning as an agile player in growing markets, with a strong technology base focused on addressing customers' future needs.”

“Despite a lull in commercial aerospace activity, the outlook is improving . Military remains strong and there is a growing need for aircraft systems that require Ultra's innovative power and control technologies that are ideally suited to modern aircraft needs where size, weight and power matter, and where interfaces between increasingly complex systems will be a differentiator.”