Oxford Instruments (LSE: OXIG) — the company that designs, supplies and supports high-technology tools and systems with a focus on research and industrial applications — released an interim management statement this morning, for the period 1 April to today, in which it reported that first-quarter orders for this year were above the same period last year. Its share price is currently up 4% in early trading so far this morning.
The increase in orders held true on both a reported and constant currency basis, despite what the company described as “the worsening foreign exchange environment” — between 1 April and 16 July last year the US dollar was worth around £0.66, but by 1 April this year it had fallen to £0.60 and now stands at around £0.58, thereby reducing the reported value of international orders.
The company reported that orders in its major trading markets of Europe, North America and Asia were all ahead of the same period in 2013 on a constant currency basis. However, if the Andor business is stripped out (it was only acquired in January this year and so didn’t contribute to Q1 2013), whilst orders would still be up in North America, they’d have been down in Europe and Asia.
Looking ahead, the company said that “our broad spread of geographies and technologies and our strong pipeline of new products continue to underpin the long term prospects for the Group“, with the board adding that it “anticipates that Oxford Instruments will continue to make progress in line with its expectations for the remainder of the financial year.“
Even with this morning’s rise, at 1,248p, the share price of Oxford Instruments is down 30% so far in 2014, compared with a flat FTSE 100. However, over five years it’s left the index standing, with Oxford Instruments’ share price up an impressive 785%, versus the FTSE 100’s 64% gain.
