Filtronic wins two strategic US contracts

Leeds-based Filtronic said the new contracts are worth £1.3m in total.

The first contract, from a leading RF (radio frequency) equipment company in the US, covers the design, development and delivery of high-performance, mmWave modules for incorporation within its next generation over-the-air equipment.

Filtronic said the project will extend the frequency range of the customer’s existing offering above 50GHz by employing Filtronic’s extensive, mmWave specific, design and manufacturing know-how.

The design and development order is structured around incremental development milestones over a period of around 16 months, for a full contract value approaching £800,000 with revenue predominantly recognised in 2021.

The second contract, with a leading High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) solution provider in the US, covers the design, development and delivery of next generation, high-performance transceiver modules to enable high capacity HAPS to ground and inter-HAPS data transmission using E-band frequencies.

Filtronic said the project will push the boundaries of current E-band technology and will be based on Filtronic’s class leading “Orpheus” and “Morpheus” transceiver technology platforms, providing the customer with a performance step change when compared to their current backhaul solution.

The design and development order is structured around incremental development milestones over a period of around 18 months, for a full contract value approaching £500,000 with revenue predominantly recognised in 2021.

Reg Gott, Filtronic’s executive chairman, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to deliver these technically challenging projects.

“It is another fantastic endorsement of our engineering and manufacturing capability and emphasises our position as a leading global player in the rapidly growing mmWave equipment market.”

Analyst Lorne Daniel at FinnCap said: “Just ahead of its interim results announcement, the designer and manufacturer of products for the critical coms and wireless telecoms markets has revealed two advanced mmWave design and development contracts – both in the US – with strategic importance to its future and its technology roadmap.

“The total values of both contracts together total around £1.3m, mainly to be recognised in 2021, for which forecasts have yet to be firmed up.

“Both projects involve prototypes for testing and pre-commercialisation evaluation units with potential for commercial supply contracts.”

Mr Daniel said he was making no change to expectations at this stage ahead of the interim results due out on Thursday.

“Our target price has been met by the recent appreciation in the share price and we will revisit it with the results,” he added.