Orders from Asia customer boost Renishaw

Shares in the company, whose products include precision measurement and calibration systems and spectroscopy devices, rose as much as 19.5 per cent, making the stock the top percentage gainer on the London Stock Ex- change.

Renishaw, which generates about 90 per cent of its revenue from outside the UK, said it received large “unpredictable” orders in the fourth quarter from an Asian customer.

The company did not disclose the value of the orders or the name of the customer.

Assistant chief executive Ben Taylor said it was difficult to predict the timing of orders from this particular customer.

“This customer will work with us for many months on a project, then ‘bang!’ – give us an order and we have to ship, in some cases, the very next day a rather large order,” Mr Taylor said.

UBS analysts estimated the orders to be worth £17m-£20m, with about 50 per cent of that flowing through to adjusted pretax profit.

Renishaw said yesterday its pre-tax profit increased 43 per cent to £30.1m in the fourth quarter. Revenue rose 18 per cent to £107m.

The orders were mainly in the company’s metrology division, which makes precision equipment and accounts for more than 90 per cent of revenue. Revenue in the division rose 2.7 per cent in the year to June 30.

“We are not sure how much, if at all, this can be extrapolated into FY15E, but this is good news nevertheless,” Investec analyst Michael Blogg said.

The company’s statutory full-year pre-tax profit rose 17 per cent to £96.4m. Total revenue rose 2 per cent to £355.5m for the year.

The company said its revenue would have been £11.2m higher and profit £6.8m higher if the pound’s exchange rate had remained at prior-year levels.