Spirent Communications FY profit up as order intake grows

In the year to the end of December 2019, adjusted pre-tax profit was up 19.8% to £93.9m on revenue of £503.6m, up 5.6% on 2018. Order intake rose 13.2% to £532m and the dividend per share was lifted 20% to 5.39p.

Spirent said order intake benefited from an increased level of multi-year support contract wins, with 24% of the closing order book for delivery in more than 12 months, compared to 17% at the end of last year, improving the visibility of future revenue.

Sales, meanwhile, were boosted by demand for 400G high-speed Ethernet and a higher win rate with US defence contractors for global navigation satellite systems positioning products.

"The momentum of our high-speed Ethernet sales and the US government requirement for our GNSS positioning solutions remained strong," the company said.

"We are focused on increasing visibility and decreasing cyclicality risks in our portfolio by expanding our services and software offerings. Order intake grew solidly as we secured more large, multi-year contracts, building orderbook for delivery in future years across all operating segments. Our investment in, and rollout of, our key account programme is delivering successfully and will expand in 2020."