An eventful year at discoverIE Group ended with sales up 5% to £443.3 million and profits up 1% to £61 million.
Orders grew 5% organically for the year, strengthened by a 14% rise in the fourth quarter. Sales rose 2% organically for the year aided by a 5% advance in the fourth quarter.
To propel its growth and broaden its product range, the Group made three acquisitions – 3Gmetalworx (3G), a North American-based designer and manufacturer of electromagnetic shielding products for the electronics industry, Storm Interface, a supplier of assistive HMI electronic products, and Slovenia-based Trival Antene, a designer and manufacturer of communications antenna and masts for defence and professional applications.
With the benefit of improving industrial market conditions and growing security market demand, the Group reported a good start to the new year with orders ahead of sales due to a growing order book, plus a strong pipeline of design wins underpinning future organic growth.
Nick Jefferies, Group Chief Executive, commented: “The Group has delivered another set of robust results where profits and earnings reached new highs and the business saw a return to strong levels of organic orders and sales growth by the year end, which has continued into the new year.
“Trading momentum improved through the year with final quarter orders increasing by 14% organically, sales increasing by 5% organically and with orders ahead of sales, giving us confidence as we start the new financial year. To support this strengthening growth outlook, additional investment in operating, sales and engineering capacity has been made to ensure we capitalise on the structural growth opportunities in our target markets.
“The outlook for the year ahead is positive with full year adjusted earnings in line with Board expectations. First quarter trading has started well with strong growth in orders and further good sales growth and orders running well ahead of sales. We remain focused on generating strong compounding growth through the cycle. The combination of organic growth, a strong order book providing good visibility, an accelerating pipeline of design wins converting into revenue, and a clear and consistently executed acquisition strategy gives us confidence in the outlook.”
