XP Power interim profits more than halve in '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