Volex (AIM:VLX) told shareholders ahead of today's annual general meeting that trading has started strongly in the new financial year, with the Board now expecting full-year underlying operating profit to come in ahead of market expectations.
The specialist manufacturer of power and data transmission products reported constant currency organic revenue growth of 28.0% year on year for the four months to 31 July.
Growth was broad-based across all five end-markets, led by Complex Industrial Technology, where data centre customer demand held at the elevated exit rate seen in the 2026 financial year, alongside stronger demand for EV and electrification products.
Consumer Electricals, Off-Highway and Medical also delivered growth.
Volex cautioned that the 28% figure is flattered by a weak prior-year comparator as new data centre programmes ramped up, and said sequential trends are a better guide: average monthly revenue in the period ran 8% above the second-half FY2026 monthly average.
Efficiency savings and operating leverage are supporting margin improvement in line with the Group's medium-term plan.
The company also completed its acquisition of the remaining interest in Kepler SignalTek during the period, extending its medical offering into patient-to-device applications and adding to underlying margins.
Analyst consensus as of 24 August, based on five of seven covering brokers, points to average revenue of $1,338 million and underlying operating profit of $138.3 million for the year ending 31 March 2027; Volex now expects to beat the profit figure.
"The group remains well positioned to make further progress against the medium-term strategic plan set out at our Capital Markets Day in April," the company said.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Volex flagged a strong start to FY2027 with organic revenue up 28% in the first four months, driven by sustained data centre demand and growth across all five end-markets. The board now expects full-year underlying operating profit to exceed consensus forecasts of $138.3m, supported by efficiency gains and the completed acquisition of the remaining stake in Kepler SignalTek; however, the company cautioned that the 28% figure is flattered by weak prior-year comparators, with sequential monthly revenue only 8% above H2 FY2026 levels.
The upgrade signals momentum toward the medium-term targets of $2.0bn revenue and 12% underlying operating margin, with data centre tailwinds and margin leverage offsetting the moderation in sequential growth rates. The Kepler acquisition adds medical exposure and margin accretion, but the sequential slowdown relative to year-on-year growth warrants monitoring for sustainability.
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