Gooch & Housego Lowers Profit Views on Ramp-Up Delay, CEO to Retire; Shares Fall

By Michael Susin

Gooch & Housego PLC shares fell on Wednesday after the company downgraded its profit views for fiscal 2023 as its capacity to ramp up production to meet a robust order book is taking longer than expected, and said that its chief executive officer will step down.

Shares at 0806 GMT were down 168.0 pence, or 20%, at 660.0 pence.

The U.K. manufacturer of optical products said it currently forecasts adjusted pretax profit–which strips out exceptional and other one-off items–to be around 3.5 million pounds ($4.2 million) below the board’s expectations for the year ended September 2023 due delays on its capacity to ramp up production. The company hasn’t provided any expectations for fiscal 2023. Fiscal 2022 earnings are due to be reported in November.

The company said it also expects to deliver double-digit volume growth, driven by a robust order book.

Gooch & Housego added that the growth in revenue is expected to boost earnings before interest and taxes margin in fiscal 2023, and that the pricing adjustment to curb inflationary pressures is expected to continue.

The company said its order book as at July 31 stood at a record of 140.6 million pounds ($170.1 million) compared with GBP97.7 million a year ago. It said it continued to benefit from continued high demand for industrial lasers and medical diagnostics products.

Gooch & Housego also said that current CEO Mark Webster will retire, being replaced by Charlie Peppiatt with effect from Sept. 14.

Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com