Spirent confirms final dividend

Spirent said shareholders would receive the 2.70p per share payout on 1 May. The FTSE 250-listed group also highlighted that it had seen "a healthy level" of orders from China despite the virus, helping it deliver "strong" results in the quarter - with revenue up 12% and "robust profit growth" year on year.

"We benefited from our strong opening order book and we have continued to build momentum into the second quarter," said Spirent.

Spirent added that the development of 5G continued "at pace" and noted that it had been appointed as adviser to the UK government's 5G security working group to help develop policy and set standards.

Chief executive Eric Updyke said: "We have started the year well and our pipeline remains solid. We recognise that the current volatile environment may affect deal timing and as a result, we continue to be extremely vigilant and are taking prudent actions to mitigate risk and delay discretionary expenses. We are keeping a careful eye on customer demand as we monitor the continuing effects of the virus."

As of 0845 BST, Spirent shares were up 3.72% at 237p.