Gooch & Housego 1H Pretax Profit Sharply Up As Markets Recover

8th Jun 2010 08:15

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Optical components and systems maker Gooch & Housego PLC (GHH.LN) Tuesday posted a marked increase in first-half pretax profit as it enjoyed a sustained recovery of its markets and secured new business. The firm said demand for its products accelerated during the first and second quarter, enabling it to exceed its internal revenue and earnings forecasts for the half. The company added that demand for certain products continues to rise. It said for several products its capacity is fully allocated for the rest of the year and it now plans to integrate its components in to more complex and higher value products. Gooch & Housego's first half, ended March 31, pretax profit increased to GBP1.7 million from GBP39,000 a year earlier. The result was boosted by a more than doubled operating profit of GBP2.1 million from GBP972,000 a year earlier, while it paid out fewer costs for research and development, sales and marketing. Revenue rose to GBP20.4 million from GBP18.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The company said it plans to develop strategic partnerships to enable it to address market opportunities that it couldn't otherwise progress on its own. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 08, 2010 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT)