Oxford Instruments said group order intake rose 44.2% to £296m in the six months to 30 September, as its Advanced Technologies division secured a wave of high-volume manufacturing customers investing in datacentre and optical communications infrastructure.
The London-listed precision instruments maker, which serves semiconductor, materials-science and academic research markets through its Imaging & Analysis and Advanced Technologies divisions, reported first-half revenue up 8.4% to £201.1m, or 9.0% on an organic constant-currency basis.
Adjusted operating profit climbed 21.5% to £30m, with the margin improving 160 basis points to 14.9% (240 basis points on an organic constant-currency basis) despite a £1.7m currency headwind.
Statutory operating profit rose to £27.1m from £20m a year earlier, after £2.9m of adjusting items.
Diluted adjusted earnings per share grew 29.1% to 42.2p, helped by the higher profit and the accretive effect of the ongoing share buyback.
Advanced Technologies was the standout performer: order intake surged 125.6% to £132.2m, driven overwhelmingly by semiconductor customers, and revenue rose 26.4% to £58.9m as the division worked through last year's order backlog.
Adjusted operating margin in the division jumped 530 basis points to 7.5%, still short of its medium-term target range but progressing as volume manufacturers adopt Oxford Instruments' compound semiconductor process technology to support AI datacentre and indium phosphide device manufacturing.
The company said FY27 revenue for Advanced Technologies is now fully covered by the existing order book, which extends well into FY28, prompting management to upgrade its FY28 outlook for the division: revenue is now expected to grow by approximately 20% in FY28, with margin moving up into the 12%-15% medium-term target range.
Imaging & Analysis was steadier: order intake rose 11.7% to £163.8m and revenue grew 2.4% to £142.2m, with commercial orders in semiconductor and materials-analysis applications up 20%, offsetting a 6% decline in healthcare and life-science order intake and continued softness in US academic spending, where orders fell 35.2%.
Free cash flow stepped up sharply to £19.1m from £0.2m a year earlier, with normalised cash conversion improving to 85% from 41%, aided by reduced restructuring costs and the absence of pension contributions.
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Net cash stood at £74.8m at 30 September, up from £45.1m a year earlier, continuing the trajectory seen since the £42.4m NanoScience disposal and the FY26 share buyback completed in March.
The company had completed £83.1m of its £100m share buyback programme by the period end, with the remaining £16.9m expected to finish in early 2027; it intends to extend the programme by a further £25m through to summer 2027.
The board declared an interim dividend of 5.8p per share, up from 5.4p a year earlier.
"We have had a very encouraging first half, with strong order momentum," said chief executive Richard Tyson, adding that high-volume manufacturing customers "are choosing our compound semiconductor processes to support the delivery of datacentre and communications infrastructure."
Oxford Instruments said the group continues to trade in line with market expectations for the full year, and confirmed it will provide its next trading update on 14 January 2027.