29th Jan 2019 10:26
LONDON (Alliance News) - Filtronic PLC on Tuesday reported a swing to loss in the first half of its current financial year, due to the lower filter sales volumes and reduced margins in Americas unit.
Filtronic is a manufacturer of antennas, filters and millimetre wave components, used in wireless communication equipment and point-to-point communication systems.
The firm said it swung to a loss of GBP941,000 in the six months to the end of November 2018 compared to GBP582,000 profit reported the year prior, as revenue declined to GBP10.4 million from GBP12.8 million.
The lower revenue resulted from the anticipated conclusion of legacy filter product programmes, the company explained.
Geographically, revenue in Americas dropped to GBP3.9 million in the first half from GBP8.1 million as a result of lower filter volumes, combined with the reduced margins. Meanwhile, in the UK, revenue surged to GBP1.7 million from GBP574,000 year-on-year on increased sales of components to the defence sector.
In Europe and Rest of World revenue climbed by 15% to GBP3.1 million and by 17% to GBP1.7 million, respectively.
Looking ahead, Filtronic said demand from critical communications customers remains strong as it continues its efforts to develop opportunities in these markets.
"Our focus on high-margin products and the strategic decision to target critical communications markets has been a key component of our strategy to mitigate the revenue volatility of network roll-outs in the telecoms market," said Chair Reg Gott.
"This focus has provided us with a significant level of baseline business and improved visibility of future revenues, along with further opportunities to grow our product offering and customer base," added Gott.
Filtronic shares were trading 3.2% lower on Tuesday at 6.39 pence each.
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