Gooch & Housego : FY26 Interim Results

About this update from Gooch & Housego Plc

2 June 2026 GOOCH G HOUSEGO PLC ("GCH", the "Company" or the "Group") Interim Results Gooch C Housego PLC (AIM: GHH), the specialist manufacturer of optical components and systems, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2026 ('H1 2026' or the 'Period'). Key Financials Period ended 31 March H1 2026 H1 2025 Change Revenue £81.Gm £70.9m +15.5% Adjusted profit before tax* £5.8m £5.1m +13.9% Adjusted basic earnings per share* 16.4p 15.0p +9.3% Net debt excluding IFRS 16 £36.6m £24.1m +£12.5m Net debt including IFRS 16 £4G.8m £35.5m +£14.3m Statutory profit before tax £3.3m £2.9m +15.8% Statutory basic earnings per share G.2p 8.1p +13.6% Interim dividend per share 4.Gp 4.9p - *Adjusted for amortisation of acquired intangible assets and non-recurring items. Key Highlights Revenue increased by 15.5% to £81.9m, or 9.1% on an organic, constant currency basis. Aerospace C Defence revenue increased by 51.7% to £35.6m (H1 2025: £23.5m), reflecting strong demand, enhanced capabilities and benefits from recent acquisitions. Adjusted operating profit increased by 16.9% to £7.2m, with operating profit margins improving slightly to 8.8% (H1 2025: 8.7%). ACD segment profitability significantly improved to £3.6m, demonstrating the benefits of the Group's strategic focus and operational improvement programme. Order book increased to record £167.3m (Sept 2025: £142.4m), up 16.5% on a constant currency basis, providing near full cover for expected FY2026 revenue. Net debt leverage at 1.5x (Sept 2025: 1.3x). Committed debt facility increased to $70m. Phoenix Optical and Global Photonics integration now largely complete, with capacity expanded supporting customer demand. FY2026 expectations unchanged; Board remains confident in further profitable growth and progress towards mid-teens returns over the medium-term. Charlie Peppiatt, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch G Housego, commented: "I am pleased with the positive progress that G&H has made in the first half of the financial year. The record order book growth in the period demonstrates the increased confidence our customers have in G&H to provide them with their most complex photonics and optical systems requirements. This enlarged order book gives us stronger forward visibility than we have had historically and reflects the benefits of our strengthened positions in structurally attractive end-markets. We remain focused on converting this demand through disciplined capacity expansion, improved operational execution and continued supply-chain resilience. The strategic actions taken over the last few years, including important speed-to-value acquisitions, have started to translate into improved financial and operational performance, and the Group is well-positioned to meet this increased demand. "While we continue to navigate the significant macroeconomic uncertainties, the recovery in our Industrial and Semiconductor markets, coupled with record demand from US and European Aerospace and Defence sectors, firmly supports our path to achieving mid-teens returns over the medium term." Analyst meeting A meeting for analysts will be held at 9.30 a.m. today at the offices of Burson Buchanan, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HS. To register attendance, please contact Burson Buchanan at: [email protected] . An audiocast of the presentation will be made available via the Group's website at 9.30am today https://gandh.com/investors/ . For further information please contact: Gooch and Housego PLC Charlie Peppiatt, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1460 256 440 James Corte, Chief Financial Officer https://www.gandh.com Burson Buchanan (Financial Communications) Henry Harrison-Topham / Sophie Wills / Abby Gilchrist Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 [email protected] Investec Bank plc (NOMAD and Broker) Chris Baird / Charles Craven / Carlton Nelson Tel: +44 (0) 20 75 97 5970 Notes to editors: Gooch C Housego is a photonics technology business with operations in the USA and Europe. A world leader in its field, the company researches, designs, engineers and manufactures advanced photonic systems, components and instrumentation for applications in the Aerospace and Defence, Industrial and Telecom, and Life Sciences sectors. World-leading design, development and manufacturing expertise is offered across a broad range of complementary technologies. It is headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, UK. For more information please visit https://www.gandh.com . This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions about future events. These are subject to risk factors associated with, amongst other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and sectors in which G&H operates. It is believed that the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables which could cause actual results, and G&H's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those currently anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on any such statements. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. Operating and Financial Review Performance Overview The Group's revenue for the period totalled £81.9m (H1 2025: £70.9m) representing 15.5% growth over the prior year comparator period, or 9.1% on an organic, constant currency basis. Demand from the Group's Aerospace C Defence ('ACD') market has remained strong and continues to grow. Revenue from the Group's industrial laser and semiconductor markets also improved with encouraging signs that the recovery in semiconductors is now underway. Revenue in the Group's Industrial segment was broadly flat on prior year or 4.6% higher on an organic, constant currency basis. We saw some improvement in our industrial laser and semiconductor markets in the period. Encouragingly, order intake across this sector has increased significantly and demand from our subsea data cable market remains strong. Revenue into the Group's ACD markets grew by 51.7% or 26.0% on an organic, constant currency basis, helped by our refocused go-to-market strategy combined with the commercial synergy benefits arising from recent acquisitions of Global Photonics and Phoenix Optical. Operational improvements and our enhanced germanium processing capabilities drove margin improvement, and, for the first time, this sector was a major contributor to the Group's profitability in H1 2026. Revenue in the Group's Life Sciences segment was down by 7.7% or 5.8% on an organic, constant currency basis. We saw continued disruption to our Pockels Cells production from materials availability particularly in the first quarter. Production increased in the second quarter as we qualified alternative materials suppliers and is expected to continue to ramp up in the second half. Revenues from our medical diagnostics products were lower due to phasing of customer demand and are expected to improve throughout H2 2026. Overall, due to the volume growth and the benefits of our operational efficiency and supply chain actions, underlying operating profit increased by 16.9% to £7.2m (H1 2025: £6.2m). This represents a return on sales of 8.8% (H1 2025: 8.7%). The integration of the Phoenix Optical and Global Photonics businesses is now largely complete and the enhanced offering the Group now provides has been key in helping secure new orders from defence customers in the US, UK and Europe. The Group's order book increased to £167.3 million (30 September 2025: £142.4 million). The growth on an organic constant currency basis was 16.5%. The level of enquiries for the Group's products and services remains high, especially in defence, from both existing and new customers. Order book growth was not limited to one end-market. Aerospace C Defence remained particularly strong, supported by customer demand for advanced optical systems and regional supply assurance. Industrial order intake also improved, aligned to the recovery in semiconductor-related markets, while Life Sciences performance remained affected by customer phasing and legacy product transition activity. The geopolitical and macroeconomic background remains volatile with fluid tariff policies, retaliatory measures and continued unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East. GCH's direct exposure to those countries that have been subjected to the current most significant tariff increases on imports to the US is limited, but we remain vigilant to the more general market instability, potential for order delays and inflationary impacts of increasing global tariffs. We have been able to re-source our supply of certain key raw materials where availability has been restricted and continue to hold higher stock levels. We are passing on cost base increases arising from these developments through higher pricing where possible. The Group has also continued to strengthen its position in germanium-related products, which are important to a number of Aerospace C Defence and Semiconductor applications. While raw material availability remains variable, actions taken to optimise sourcing and increase resilience have improved the Group's ability to support customer demand. Revenue Six months ended 31 March From continuing operations 2026 £'M 2025 £'M % Change Industrial 30.3 30.1 0.7% Aerospace C Defence 35.6 23.5 51.7% Life Sciences 16.0 17.3 (7.7%) Group Revenue 81.G 70.9 15.5% Products and Markets - Industrial Gooch C Housego's principal industrial markets are industrial lasers, telecommunications, sensing and semiconductor manufacturing. Industrial lasers are used in a diverse range of high precision material processing applications ranging from microelectronics and semiconductors to automotive manufacturing. Overall, sales of products by the Group into our industrial markets in the six months ended 31 March 2026 increased by 0.7%, or 4.6% when measured on an organic, constant currency basis, compared with the equivalent period last year. The semiconductor market is now showing strengthening signs of a recovery and we are seeing increased order intake from the semiconductor processing, sensing and advanced microelectronics markets. The scale and phasing of this recovery remains under review, but the improvement in order activity provides greater confidence in the medium-term outlook for the segment. Adjusted operating profit was slightly ahead of the prior year at £3.8m, and the adjusted return on sales percentage was 12.7% (H1 2025: 12.6%). Products and Markets - Aerospace G Defence ('AGD') In ACD the Group continues to strengthen and grow well-established positions in periscopes and sighting systems, target designation and range finding, ring laser gyroscope navigational systems, advanced opto-mechanical subsystems and space-based optical communications. The Group is also seeing increasing involvement in laser directed energy weapon ('LDEW') programmes, where our precision optical and subsystem capabilities are supporting the development of next generation defensive technologies for allied naval and land-based defence applications. Demand across the sector remains strong as key allied nations continue to prioritise the enhancement of defensive capabilities in response to the evolving global security environment. This has resulted in increased demand for the Group's infrared lens systems and optical assemblies for counter-unmanned aerial systems ('C-UAS'), short-range air defence ('SHORAD'), near-Earth orbit and naval applications, areas where our precision optical expertise and vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities provide a differentiated offering. The continued recovery and production ramp within the commercial aviation market is also driving increased demand for the Group's ring laser gyroscope ('RLG') products, with customers seeking reliable supply partners capable of supporting higher build rates and long-term programme requirements. Operational improvements across the Group's precision optics facilities have enabled increased throughput and enhanced production efficiency to support this growing demand. The defence focused investments made through the acquisitions of Artemis Optical, Phoenix Optical Technologies and Global Photonics (Meopta US) combined with our existing enhanced capabilities have further strengthened the Group's defence market position and demonstrated our commitment to expanding manufacturing capacity and technical capability across multiple regions. Aligned to the Group's strategy launched in June 2023, these acquisitions have enhanced our ability to provide customers with a broader integrated optical solutions offering whilst also supporting increasingly regionalised supply chain requirements of allied nations. GCH now has manufacturing and technical capability aligned to UK and European customer requirements as well as dedicated US-based capability supporting North America's growing demand. The combination of these businesses with the Group's existing capabilities continues to support new customer opportunities and reinforces our position as a strategic supplier within the ACD market. Customers are increasingly prioritising security of supply, regional manufacturing capability and vertically integrated optical fabrication, areas where GCH's strengthened UK, European and US footprint provides a differentiated proposition. Group revenue into the ACD market grew by 51.7%, or 26.0% on an organic constant currency basis compared with the first half of FY 2025. Additional volumes in this segment together with our operational efficiency improvements resulted in the segment generating an adjusted operating profit in the period of £3.6m (H1 2025: £0.6m). Products and Markets - Life Sciences GCH has established itself as a trusted supplier in the Life Sciences market, delivering advanced optical components that enhance the performance and reliability of life science instruments. Our contributions span applications such as microscopy, medical diagnostics, biomedical imaging, and laser surgery, where our reputation as a leading provider of advanced optics, fibre optics, acousto-optics, and electro-optics is well recognised globally. Revenues from our medical diagnostic markets reduced compared with the first half of FY2025. This was principally due to customer demand phasing, with certain customers having procured systems from GCH in FY2025 and moved into installation and qualification phases during H1 of FY2026. A number of customer programmes also remain in clinical trial and regulatory approval phases, with volume production now expected to contribute from FY2027. As reported in GCH's 2025 Annual Report, the Group has made the decision to end-of-life the majority of its Pockels Cells product lines for the medical lasers market. Last-time-buy activity created elevated short-term demand in these products during the period, which coincided with material supply constraints and production yield challenges at the Group's Cleveland facility. Management has taken action to qualify alternative material sources and improve in-house production performance. Production increased through the second quarter and is expected to continue to recover in the second half. While these factors affected margins in H1 2026, the Board expects Life Sciences margins to improve as production normalises and customer demand strengthens. GOOCH & HOUSEGO PLC 2026 PAGE

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