Filtronic’s strong order book helps company through Covid-19 crisis

The Leeds-based company said it received orders from existing clients during the pandemic, but constraints imposed by Covid-19 slowed the rate of new business and development activities.

In February, Filtronic established a Covid Business Continuity Team with the purpose of providing and sustaining a fully compliant and safe working environment whilst maintaining full operational capacity to fulfil customer commitments.

The firm said that it maintained a 24/7 manufacturing capability throughout the period whilst all employees who could work from home were enabled to do so.

The group said the extensive measures taken to ensure staff safety came at a cost for adjustments to operational layouts and processes, operational efficiency and additional head count. The company experienced no confirmed Covid-19 related staff sickness whilst the average employee attendance rate during March, April and May was over 98 per cent.

“The support of our entire staff must be recorded as having been exemplary and we are grateful to all of them for their resilience and hard work during a difficult time for everybody,” the firm said in a year end trading update.

As its year end approached at the end of May, it was advised of a short-term delay to two key client delivery schedules.

“We responded to this by implementing a furlough programme for a number of manufacturing staff from early June and expect to recall these employees progressively during July and August,” the group said.

“We did not however suffer any order cancellations or deterioration in commercial terms.”

The firm said there is considerable uncertainty in both the macroeconomic environment and the markets in which it operates.

As the focus of concern regarding the impact of Covid-19 progressively shifts from public health to the economy, it warned that this uncertainty will increase.

It said that whilst it has entered its new financial year with a good order book, it would be imprudent to be anything other than cautious on the outlook for the year ahead. Consequently, in common with many of its peers, it will not be providing guidance for the expected performance of the business at this time.

The group said trading during the second half of its last financial year (the six months to May 31) was broadly in line with market guidance despite some Covid-19 related disruption in the final quarter.

The board expects to report annual revenue of around £17.2m for the year to May 31, up from £15.9m the previous year, a rise of 8 per cent.

Adjusted operating profit is expected to be £400,000, up from £200,000 the previous year.

It is due to report its final results on August 4.