Gooch & Housego trading ahead of expectations

23rd Feb 2011 08:04

Optical components maker Gooch & Housego said its financial year has started positively with trading ahead of management expectations in the first four months.The group said it had experienced strong demand for its products across all of its sectors."Against a background of favourable market conditions we have experienced strong demand for acousto-optics (Q-switches), electro-optics and precision optics for semiconductor, microelectronics and other industrial applications, while our strategy of diversification has been supported by continued sales growth in the Aerospace & Defence and Life Sciences sectors," it said in a company statement.At the end of January the order book stood at a record level of £25.5m(excluding acquisitions), up from £23.5m at the start of the financial year.Following the completed acquisition of EM4 in January Gooch & Housego said that it continues to evaluate other acquisition opportunities.