Bosses at Gooch and Housego have hailed “positive progress” during the first half of the financial year.
The Aim-listed firm, which makes photonic systems used in the aerospace and defence sectors as well as for scientific research, reported a statutory pre-tax profit of £3.3m in the six months to March - up from £1.2m for the same period a year earlier.
The company, which has its global headquarters in Somerset, confirmed revenue had risen by almost a third to £71.3m. In an earlier trading update in April the business said this had been driven by the effects of price increases to offset inflated input costs from its supply chain.
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The 75-year-old business said cost inflation had persisted through the period but this was being passed on to customers “with some time lag”.
The group said it had increased its productive capacity and a “steady” reduction in overdue backlog, with a current order book value at £124.4m - up from £119.9m in March 2022.
Chief executive Charlie Peppiatt said: "Positive progress has been made in the first half with increasing operational output and continued strong levels of customer engagement on new product opportunities. Full year expectations for the Group are unchanged and the outcome of our strategy review confirms a clear route to mid-teens returns in the medium term."
In February the company said following a “refocus” on recruitment at all four of its UK production facilities were now fully resourced, while it had also invested in its inventory to protect its operations from “persistent supply chain constraints”.
Founded in Ilminster in 1948, Gooch and Housego has a total of nine manufacturing sites in the UK, US and China, with sales offices in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
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