Gooch & Housego trading remains on track

Gooch & Housego, a specialist manufacturer of optical components & systems, confirmed that trading in the last six months has been in line with company expectations after a mixed performance among its sectors.

The aim listed laser specialist said encouraging trend in orders, as reported in its February update, has continued with the order book at the end of March at £29.6m, up 19% from the start of the year.

Gooch & Housego added that overall mixed trading conditions reflected current economic uncertainties, with some sectors performing well and others less so.

US Aerospace & Defence sector continued to be challenging, with budget cuts and threats of sequestration adversely affecting decision making, it said.

In contrast, G&H won significant orders from European Aerospace & Defence customers during the same period.

Elsewhere Industrial and Life Sciences sectors market conditions have been similarly mixed but, as in Aerospace & Defence, the group said it remains focused on product development to address an increasingly diverse range of applications.

During the six-month period, Space photonics has emerged as a significant new application area, one that G&H hopes to expand with its focus on fibre optics, semiconductor lasers and precision optics.

Gooch & Housego has also recently established a Japanese subsidiary, opened a sales office in Singapore and strengthened its teams in China as it expands its presence in Far East markets.

Chief Executive Gareth Jones commented: "Against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty, Gooch & Housego is focusing on delivering growth through the provision of innovative photonic technology solutions in specialised applications where we can take a leading or dominant position in a global market."

CJ