Cobham stays strong despite military cuts
SHARES in technology firm Cobham rose 1.4 per cent yesterday, after the company reported that its trading performance in the first nine months of 2014 had been in line with expectations.
The group added that it had continued to make progress towards the achievement of its various significant aerial refuelling engineering milestones, although further progress was needed in the remainder of the year in order to meet all its targets.
The firm said that it anticipated that organic revenue would decline by low-to-mid single digits in 2014, “against a background of ongoing challenges in defence/security markets, partially offset by strong growth in commercial markets”. The firm said it was also assuming continued good order momentum in its short-cycle businesses in both those markets.
Cobham anticipates growth in revenue in 2015, on the basis of a moderating rate of decline in the US defence market, an increase in revenue from non-US military markets and continued strong commercial growth.
The company said this would be “further underpinned” by the acquisition of Aeroflex, which had increased the group’s exposure to “attractive commercial end markets”.