Technology group reports ‘best ever’ performance
Technology group Solid State has delivered its “best ever” performance as it aims to double the size of the business through organic growth and acquisitions.
The Redditch electronics manufacturer saw adjusted profit before tax rise 18% to £3.5m on revenue of £56.3m, up 22% from £46.3m for the year to the end of March.
Solid State’s performance was boosted by its acquisition of Pacer Group in November 2018, taking the group into the complementary opto-electronics market.
The group delivered significant increase in sales, with the Value Added Distribution (‘VAD’) division delivering close to 25% organic growth, while the company re-focused its manufacturing division to concentrate on higher ‘added value’ business, which it said has translated into a richer mix of business with better gross margins.
Solid State opened a new facility in Weymouth, facilitating the growth of higher margin products and services while continued investment in medium term research and development aims to deliver increased higher margin services and manufacturing solutions such as battery packs for robotics and new security accredited computing products.
Tony Frere, chairman of Solid State, said: “The financial year ended 31 March 2019 has seen the group deliver its best ever performance in terms of both revenue and profit from the core business and make significant progress against its strategic objectives.
“Our strategy is to deliver growth both organically and through acquisition. These results illustrate our success in both aspects, and our continued commitment to deliver on this strategy and our aspiration to double the size of the business.
“The group open order book at 31 May 2019 was up 56% on the prior year at £35.9m. The acquisition of Pacer has been a large contributor, however like for like, the proforma open order book was still up 20%. This gives the Board confidence that the group remains on track to deliver in-line with our expectations.”
Headquartered in Redditch, Solid State employs over 200 staff across the UK with a branch office in the USA, serving specialist markets in oil & gas production, transportation, medical, construction, security, military and field maintenance.
Solid State was established in 1971 and admitted to AIM in June 1996.
