The share price of optical components manufacturer Gooch & Housego (LON:GHH) climbed 4.61% to 1,203p (as of 14:15 GMT) despite the firm reporting a 9.4% drop in statutory pre-tax profits for the year ended 30th September. Revenues for the year fell by 5.5% but management said that the order book at the end of the period was slightly ahead of last year.
CEO Mark Webster commented: “Our priority during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains the health and safety of our staff, customers and suppliers. We are very proud of the way our staff have responded to this unprecedented challenge.
“FY2020 profits were affected by temporary disruption to manufacturing and lower demand in some subsectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have continued to invest in our high priority R&D targets, been able to maintain a strong balance sheet and have improved our liquidity levels.“