XP Power interim profits more than halve in 'challenging' trading environment

Critical power control solutions developer XP Power said on Tuesday that both revenue and profits had declined in the six months ended 30 June as a result of a "challenging" trading environment.

XP Power said revenues were down 21% at £127.1m, with order intake falling 24% to £87.9m, while operating profits slumped 38% to £13.5m and pre-tax profits more than halved to £7.6m.

The London-listed firm said its revenue decline was principally a result of channel destocking and a market-wide downcycle that impacted demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

However, XP Power said it was "well positioned" for recovery, with well-invested infrastructure and scalable capacity, and was confident that end markets would resume their trajectory of long-term GDP growth

Chief executive Gavin Griggs said: "Whilst our focus has been on closely managing short-term performance, we have continued to execute our strategy and have used a period of slower activity levels to make sure we have the foundations necessary to maximise our long-term potential. The fundamentals underpinning demand in our sectors remain firmly in place and we are well-positioned to benefit as an independent business as our markets return to structural long-term growth.”

As of 1125 BST, XP Power shares were up 0.32% at 1,254.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com