Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM:GHH) shares moved up, rising 56p or 7.41% to 812p, after the firm reported a sharp lift in its order book since the start of the new financial year, which has strengthened confidence in the full-year outcome, as demand from aerospace and defence customers in the US and Europe continued to build.
The AIM-listed photonics specialist said its order book has grown to £168.3m since 1 October, up from £142.3m at the end of the prior year, with strong momentum across precision optics, optical systems and advanced imaging platforms. Demand at recently acquired Global Photonics and Phoenix Optical has also remained firm, prompting capacity increases within their existing footprints.
Alongside defence, the group pointed to improving conditions in its industrial markets and early signs of a recovery in semiconductor manufacturing, with expectations for a more sustained upturn in industrial laser and semiconductor demand in the second half of 2026. In Life Sciences, supply-chain issues affecting Pockels cell orders have been resolved and production is now expected to ramp in the second half of FY2026, implying a more back-end weighted year than FY2025.
It added that net debt excluding lease liabilities reduced to £28.0m at 31 January 2026 from £29.9m at September 2025, helped by lower working capital, partly offset by capex and deferred consideration payments.
The board said expectations for the year are unchanged, supported by the order book, operational improvements and an expanding pipeline of potential multi-year contracts.