15th Jan 2019 08:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirent Communications PLC on Tuesday said its order intake and revenue increased in 2018, due to strong growth from its Networks & Security and Positioning segments.
Shares in Spirent were up 8.0% at 135.20 pence on Tuesday morning.
Spirent provides testing, measurement, assurance, and analytics for devices and networks. This includes products and services for high-speed Ethernet, as well as cybersecurity.
Spirent divested one of its businesses in 2017, which contributed USD5.9 million of revenue, USD5.2 million of order intake, and USD1.4 million of adjusted operating profit to the firm's 2017 results.
Excluding this divestment, revenue increased 6.3% to USD477 million in 2018 from USD448.9 million. Order intake also increased 6.2% for its ongoing businesses, rising to USD470 million from USD442.6 million.
This was attributed to strong Network & Security segment growth, with higher demand for 400G high-speed Ethernet test solutions.
The company's Positioning business also performed well due to a US defence contract which contributed around USD10 million to revenue. The company has a portfolio of test systems and services that aid with positioning, navigation, and timing systems for high-precision applications.
This contract is not expected to repeat in 2019.
The company is expecting to achieve a USD75 million to USD77 million adjusted operating profit for 2018, exceeding market expectations. The company's adjusted operating profit in 2017 was USD58.9 million.
These adjusted figures are before charging exceptional items, acquired intangible asset amortization, and share-based payment.
Cash at the end of 2018 was USD120 million following USD55 million of dividend payments in the year.
"We expect to exceed the market's profit expectations for the financial year 2018. We have market leading technology offerings and are well placed to optimise opportunities as they continue to arise," Spirent Chief Executive Eric Hutchinson said.
The company's 2018 results will be announced on March 7.
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