TIDMSPT
RNS Number : 4052H
Spirent Communications PLC
15 November 2018
SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS PLC
Third Quarter Trading Update
London, UK - 15 November 2018: Spirent Communications plc
("Spirent", the "Company" or the "Group") (LSE: SPT), a leading
communications technology company, today issues the following
Trading Update for the third quarter of the Company's financial
year, from 1 July to 30 September 2018 and for the year to
date.
Group performance
Performance delivery is on plan with further good momentum
enjoyed in the third quarter of 2018. We secured a number of key
wins, providing further evidence that our strategy is working.
Order intake for the nine months showed solid growth on the same
period in 2017.
We continue to expect a weighting to the second half of the
year, with the usual uptick in the last quarter of the year,
underpinned by the expected rebound in 400G high-speed Ethernet
testing, the timing of key orders for Lifecycle Service Assurance
solutions, continued expansion in our Security business and a
strong performance within Positioning, as noted below. The Board is
therefore confident of delivering further strategic progress in the
year and expects to at least deliver its expectations for the
current financial year.
As we continue to develop our solution selling capabilities to
better address our customers' larger and more complex challenges,
we have made senior appointments in the quarter, key account
executives to further deepen important relationships at our largest
customers and a new leader for our EMEA business.
The balance sheet remains strong with good cash conversion in
the quarter and year to date.
Networks & Security
We continue to maintain our leadership position in high-speed
Ethernet testing.
Following the release of recent pent up demand resulting from
uncertainty in the China-US trading relationship, a multi-million
dollar order was received from a large China equipment
manufacturer. Furthermore, trading resumed with ZTE following the
ending of the trade embargo imposed by the US government. Key
strategic wins in the quarter with leading network equipment
manufacturers for high-speed Ethernet 400G programme acceleration
have been secured. As a result, orders in the third quarter showed
a strong pick up, with year to date growth on 2017.
We are currently benefiting from particularly strong demand from
the US for GPS Positioning products for military and other
programmes.
Expansion of our security product sales into government and
enterprise continues to deliver to plan and is attracting more
subscription sales, which initially delays revenue recognition to
future years. In addition we announced our new Data Breach
Emulation solution for holistic and hyper-realistic testing of
networks and devices. We were also approved as an authorised Test
Lab for CTIA IoT Cybersecurity Certification, a new programme
designed to confirm the security of cellular-connected Internet of
Things devices.
Lifecycle Service Assurance
Our VisionWorks solution continues to be well received by our
key customers, with a further multi- million dollar win in the
period from a Tier-1 service provider for our VisionWorks Customer
Experience Assurance solution, building our assurance capability in
the heart of their network.
We also secured a key 5G Landslide deal with a leading US
service provider demonstrating the advanced 5G capabilities of this
platform.
Connected Devices
We continue to see relative stability in the smartphone test
market. Proactive cost management actions taken in 2017 are
delivering an earnings benefit. Our strategic focus on developing
5G test capabilities is on track.
Commenting on the results, Eric Hutchinson, Chief Executive
Officer, said:
"The business continues to perform well. We are pleased growth
in order intake is now translating to revenue growth and we are
building a solid platform to benefit from growing market
opportunities for our VisionWorks, security and high-speed Ethernet
(400G) products and solutions. The Board remains confident that the
Group will show progress in 2018, and that we will at least deliver
our expectations for the year."
Board update
As separately announced today, Eric Hutchinson has notified the
Board of his desire to retire from the Company. The Board is
initiating a recruitment process and Eric has agreed to continue in
his current role until a successor has been appointed and through a
transition period. Further details are set out in that
announcement.
- ends -
Enquiries
Eric Hutchinson, Chief Executive Spirent Communications
Officer plc +44 (0)1293 767676
Paula Bell, Chief Financial
Officer
James Melville Ross/Dwight
Burden/ +44 (0)20 3727
Adam Davidson FTI Consulting 1000
About Spirent Communications plc
Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT) offers test, measurement,
analytics and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and
networks. Spirent provides products, services and information
solutions for high-speed Ethernet, positioning mobile network
infrastructure markets, with expanding focus on service assurance,
cybersecurity and 5G. Spirent is accelerating the transition of
connected devices, network equipment and applications from
development labs to the operational network, as it continues to
innovate toward fully-automated testing and autonomous service
assurance solutions. Further information about Spirent
Communications plc can be found at
https://corporate.spirent.com/.
Spirent Communications plc Ordinary Shares are traded on the
London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT; LEI: 213800HKCUNWP1916L38). The
Company operates a Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR)
programme with each ADR representing four Spirent Communications
plc Ordinary Shares. The ADRs trade in the US over-the-counter
(OTC) market under the symbol SPMYY and the CUSIP number is
84856M209. Spirent ADRs are quoted on the Pink OTC Markets
electronic quotation service which can be found at
http://www.otcmarkets.com/marketplaces/otc-pink.
Spirent and the Spirent logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Spirent Communications plc. All other trademarks or
registered trademarks mentioned herein are held by their respective
companies. All rights reserved.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements which are
made in good faith and are based on current expectations or
beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. You can
sometimes, but not always, identify these statements by the use of
a date in the future or such words as "will", "anticipate",
"estimate", "expect", "project", "intend", "plan", "should", "may",
"assume" and other similar words. By their nature, forward-looking
statements are inherently predictive and speculative and involve
risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in the future. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a
guarantee of future performance and are subject to factors that
could cause our actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this document, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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