Gooch & Housego (GHH) H1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue for H1 2026 rose 15.5% year-over-year to £81.9m, with organic constant currency growth of 9.1%, driven by strong aerospace and defense demand and early signs of semiconductor recovery.

• Adjusted operating profit increased 16.9% to £7.2m, with margin growth supported by operational improvements and strategic acquisitions.

• Order book reached a record £167.3m, up 16.5% from September 2025, providing near full revenue cover for FY2026.

• Integration of Phoenix Optical and Global Photonics is largely complete, delivering commercial synergies and expanded capacity.

• Full-year expectations remain unchanged, with strong prospects for profitable growth despite macroeconomic and geopolitical risks.

Financial highlights

• Organic revenue growth was 9.1% at constant currency, with reported growth at 15.5%.

• Gross margin declined by 100bps to 29.4% due to mix headwinds and supply shortages, notably germanium.

• Adjusted profit before tax rose 13.9% to £5.8m; adjusted EPS increased to 16.4p.

• Net cash from operations improved to £3.9m; net debt (excluding leases) increased to £36.6m, leverage at 1.5x.

• Interim dividend maintained at 4.9p per share.

Outlook and guidance

• Order intake reached a record £100.3m in H1 2026; order book at £167.3m provides near full cover for FY2026 revenue.

• Semiconductor market recovery is underway; strong multi-year demand in A&D optical systems.

• Life Sciences production and supply chain disruptions expected to ease in H2 2026.

• FY2026 expectations unchanged; positive medium-term outlook despite macroeconomic and geopolitical risks.

• Board confident in achieving mid-teens returns over the medium term.