XP Power upbeat after better-than-expected final quarter

The London-listed firm said its book-to-bill ratio was 0.6 in the three-month period, down by 0.2 from the same period a year earlier.

For the entire year, XP Power recorded an order intake of £208.9m, representing a substantial 42% decrease.

However, revenue for 2023 reached £316.5m, indicating a 9% increase, while its book-to-bill ratio declined 0.5 over the year to 0.7.

The company said fourth-quarter revenue still exceeded expectations slightly, primarily due to the decision to reschedule the relocation of its California facility from December to January.

That resulted in £5m of revenues being brought forward from the first quarter of 2024 to the final three months of 2023.

XP Power also noted that order intake was £4.9m higher than in the third quarter, which it put down to a rise in orders for high voltage products for semiconductor manufacturing applications, while orders from the healthcare and industrial technology sectors slowed down.

The year ended with an order book valued at £192m.

Looking at its financial position, XP Power said net debt as of 31 December amounted to £112.6m, which was lower than expected.

The reduction was due to around £12m in capital expenditure payments, primarily related to the rescheduled relocation of the US facility.

Additionally, the strengthening of sterling led to a decrease in the value of dollar-denominated borrowings during the final quarter.

While the company was in the early stages of closing its year-end accounts, it estimated that the net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio at the end of December would be around 2.0x, compared to 2.6x at the end of the third quarter.

XP Power said it expected an increase in net debt and leverage in the first half of 2024 as deferred capital expenditure payments were made, with a subsequent reduction thereafter.

“Whilst it is too soon to be definitive about prospects for 2024, we continue to expect that market conditions will improve as the year progresses, with our results being weighted towards the second half,” the board said in its statement.

“Our performance will be supported by the actions taken to reduce our cost base and we will continue to respond decisively to market conditions as they evolve.

“The board remains confident that the Group has strong long-term prospects, and significant value, underpinned by our leading market position and broad product portfolio.”

At 1026 GMT, shares in XP Power were up 1.17% at 1,305.1p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.