Trading Statement

Gooch & Housego PLC
25 March 2002

GOOCH & HOUSEGO PLC

25 MARCH 2002

TRADING STATEMENT

The Board of Gooch & Housego plc ('Gooch & Housego' or 'the Company') would like
to update the market on the current trading position of the group. As stated in
the preliminary results statement released on 19 December 2001, the Board
believed that, whilst individual group companies might face ups and downs, the
overall performance of the group for the current year was likely to be
satisfactory.

While parts of the group such as CCI and the Gooch & Housego optics business
remain on budget, the overall performance of the group has been adversely
affected in other areas, principally as a result of a significant fall off in
demand for q-switches. This has been caused primarily by orders being deferred
rather than cancelled. Whilst there have been intermittent signs of a recovery,
the Company has yet to experience a sustained recovery since the events of 11
September.

Given the current limited visibility in the market, the outlook for the full
year is uncertain. Unless a sustained recovery occurs during the remainder of
the year, the Company is likely to report full year profits significantly below
those of the prior year. However, the group continues to maintain a modest level
of gearing.





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