Gooch & Housego profit hit by staff absences

The optical products company said it had a record order book of £119.9m at the end of March compared with £92.8m a year earlier amid strong demand after elective surgeries recovered from the Covid-19 crisis.

But the company said pandemic-related problems had curbed output in the first half of the year. Covid-19 absences affected its US sites earlier in the year and UK facilities have been affected more recently.

Revenue in the six months to the end of March will be about £54m, down from £58.5m a year earlier, Gooch & Housego said. Business will pick up in the second half but not enough to offset sales lost in the first half, it warned.

As a result, annual pretax profit will be up to £2.5m less than management had expected, the company said. It added that this estimate was based on the impact from staff absences not being repeated in the second half.

Chief Executive Mark Webster said: "During the first half of the financial year we have seen strong demand for the group's technologies and capabilities and our order book has achieved another record level. However like many industrial businesses our revenue has been held back by Covid-related staff absences and supply chain disruption.

"We have been working hard to increase production capacity in areas of substantial demand and build resilience within our supply chain. As a result we expect trading levels to accelerate in the second half."

Gooch & Housego shares fell 5.9% to 965p at 08:59 BST.