DiscoverIE sales down in Q1

DiscoverIE stated that, as expected, Q1 sales were 6% weaker year-on-year at constant exchange rates. Organically, however, sales were down 12% against a strong comparator as industrial customer destocking continued.

The FTSE 250-listed group highlighted that gross margins in the period continued to be "robust" and said both operating costs and working capital were tightly managed, with the firm on track to achieve its 13.5% underlying operating margin target of 13.5% in FY24.

DiscoverIE also noted that orders returned to growth in the period, increasing by 13% at constant currency and being ahead of sales, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.01, up from 0.84 last year.

"With an excellent pipeline of design wins, acquisition opportunities and high cashflow, the Group is well positioned to continue its strong through cycle growth as market conditions stabilise," said DiscoverIE.

As of 1000 BST, DiscoverIE shares were down 1.10% at 721.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com