US Facilities Update

RNS Number : 2917H

Gooch & Housego PLC

24 March 2020

 

For immediate release

24 March 2020

Gooch & Housego PLC

("G&H" or the "Group")

US Facilities Update

Gooch & Housego PLC (AIM:GHH), the specialist manufacturer of optical components and systems, announces that as a result of COVID-19 related legal orders issued in the States of Ohio and California the Company's facility in Cleveland, Ohio is now closed for a temporary period; this is in addition to its Fremont, California facility, whose temporary closure was announced on 17 March 2020.

During this period staff from Cleveland and Fremont facilities who are able to homework will continue to do so. Work will continue on essential maintenance, inventory management and supplying the small number of customers that are within the exempt sectors.

The legal order issued by the State of Ohio is effective through 6 April 2020, the order issued by the State of California is effective until further notice and we are awaiting further details on similar stay at home orders in Maryland and Massachusetts.

The Group's Moorpark, California; Baltimore, Maryland and Boston, Massachusetts facilties are not affected by the State of California, Maryland or Massachusetts orders in the same way as they operate substantially within an exempt sector.

The Group believes that it is likely that a similar order maybe issued in the coming days in the State of New Hampshire where our other US facility is located. G&H anticipates that the impact of such an order on the Group's operations in Keene, New Hampshire would be limited given a significant proportion of the products and services provided by the facility are expected to be exempt from the scope of the order.

It is difficult to provide financial guidance at the current time. Nevertheless the effect of these orders will be to shift the balance of revenue generated by the Company to an increased H2 weighting or, depending upon the duration of the situation, potentially in to the Group's next financial year, which would lead to a reduction in our previous estimates for the current year's performance.

G&H remains financially secure and well placed to re-establish profitable growth when normal conditions return.

Further updates will be provided as and when appropriate.

For further information contact: -
Mark Webster/Chris Jewell	Gooch & Housego PLC	01460 256440
Mark Court /Charlotte Slater	Buchanan	020 7466 5000
Chris Baird/ Patrick Robb/ David Anderson	Investec Bank plc	020 7597 5970

Notes to editors

1.  Gooch & Housego is a photonics technology business headquartered in Ilminster, Somerset, UK with operations in the USA and Europe. A world leader in its field, the company researches, designs, engineers and manufactures advanced photonic systems, components and instrumentation for applications in the Aerospace & Defence, Industrial, Life Sciences and Scientific Research sectors. World leading design, development and manufacturing expertise is offered across a broad range of complementary technologies.

2.  All financial information included in this announcement is sourced from unaudited management accounts and excludes any specific items. This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions about future events.  These are subject to risk factors associated with, amongst other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and sectors in which G&H operates.  It is believed that the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables which could cause actual results, and G&H's plans and objectives, to differ materially from those currently anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.  Investors should not place undue reliance on any such statements. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

 

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