Oxford Instruments poised for further growth as it reports rise in revenue and profit for fiscal 2023

Oxford Instruments has delivered a strong set of results for fiscal 2023 as the company said it saw increasing demand across its markets despite global supply chain shortages and ongoing Covid-related disruption.

For the year to end-March, the Abingdon-based company, which provides high-tech products and systems for industry and research, said orders had grown 20.9% to £511.6 million, up 14.2% on a constant currency basis.

That led to revenue of £444.7 million, an increase of 14% at constant currency, while pre-tax profit was £73.5 million compared to £47.6 million in fiscal 2022. The dividend for the year was 19.5p, up from 18.1p in the year-earlier period.

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Ian Barkshire, the group's CEO, told investors: "We have delivered growth in orders, revenue and profit, as well as maintaining margin, with performance strengthened in the second half as we converted our order book and realised the benefits of new pricing structures.

"While mindful that the wider macroeconomic context remains challenging, our record order book and strong positions in attractive end markets underpin our confidence in the future growth of the group. Our strong balance sheet positions us well to invest in people, infrastructure and innovation, and to make synergistic acquisitions to augment our organic growth."

He added that the full year outlook was "in line with our expectations".

Oxford said it had seen particularly strong growth from its Advanced Materials, Quantum Technology, Semiconductor and Healthcare & Life Science markets.

This had resulted in strong constant currency revenue growth across each of its three sectors - Materials & Characterisation (19.2%), Research & Discovery (8.1%), and Service & Healthcare (9.6%), it said, despite supply chain shortages and Covid-related disruption in China. Supply chain issues had eased through the second half, supporting stronger revenue, as anticipated, it added.

During the year, the company said it brought a number of new products to market, including new processes and techniques for both compound and silicon semiconductor fabrication and a battery-specific edition of its Cypher atomic force microscope.

It also has new large-scale cryogenic platforms, which are advancing the performance of quantum computers and an extension to its optical microscopy portfolio, Dragonfly 600 to provide healthcare and life science customers, it said, with "unprecedented imaging speed and quality".

In the statement, the company also revealed an accelerated commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045.

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