Strong financial performance with good organic growth for the year
5% increase in total revenue in Sterling to £564.9m4 (2013: £537.0m).
8% organic increase in revenue.
12% increase in operating profit in US$.
9% organic growth in Performance Materials, driven by strong performances in smartphones and mobile LTE/4G investment.
8% organic growth in Wireless Systems, driven by automotive/M2M applications.
5% increase in underlying profit before tax to £63.2m (2013: £60.1m) after increased investment in R&D and a £4m currency headwind.
Full year dividend increased by 4%. Proposed final dividend per share of 8.23p (2013: 7.90p).
Delivering against our strategy for growth and creating value
Successfully delivered on our strategy to diversify our customer base with 6 customers over $25m in revenues (2013: 5 customers) and 79 customers over $1m (2013: 70 customers).
Six consecutive quarters of organic revenue growth.
Innovation and customer mindshare underpinned by 10% increase in gross R&D investment to $81.9m (2013: $74.4m). Expanded production footprint with new factories in China, Vietnam and the United States and a new design centre in South Korea.
Successful acquisition of Model Solution in South Korea, opening up new markets and customers.
David Lockwood, Chief Executive, commented: "Our consistent and disciplined strategy of investing for
growth and driving cultural change is transforming our business, with good revenue growth and stable profit margins. We have reported a number of successful strategic milestones this year through our focus on innovation, reliable fulfilment and speed to capture customer mindshare and deliver shareholder value. We have a clear strategy and operate in attractive growth markets. We have started 2015 with good momentum and believe that we are well placed for further growth over the year".
