The Gooch & Housego Board is proposing a final dividend of 8.2 pence per share for approval at the Company's Annual General Meeting on 21 February 2024, giving a total of 13.0 pence for the year. Payment of the dividend will be made on 23 February 2024, to shareholders on the register as at 19 January 2024. The Board is committed to growing the level of dividend cover.
Other financial highlights include:
Strategy - a new strategy launched focusing on four pillars of People, Self Help, Technology and Investment to deliver mid-teen return on sales over the mid-term.
Revenue - up 19% or 13.6% on an organic, constant currency basis to £148.5m (FY2022: £124.8m).
Profit - adjusted operating profit up 28.0% to £11.3m (FY2022: £8.9m). Reported profit before tax up to £5.0m (FY2022: loss of £2.3m).
Order book - order book returning to normalised levels at £124.1m (FY2022: £147.7m). Book-to-bill ratio in the second half of 1.04x.
Acquisitions - the acquisitions of GS Optics and Artemis completed during the year. The integration of both businesses into the Group is progressing well.
Debt - net debt increased to £31.7m (FY2022: £19.1m) of which bank debt was £20.9m (FY2022: £12.8m) reflecting investment in acquisitions. Group leverage remains comfortable at 1.1x.
