Spirent Communications PLC First Quarter 2019 Trading Update (6548X)

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RNS Number : 6548X

Spirent Communications PLC

01 May 2019

SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS PLC

First Quarter 2019 Trading Update

London, UK - 1 May 2019: Spirent Communications plc ("Spirent", the "Company" or the "Group") (LSE: SPT), a leading communications technology company, today issues the following Trading Update for the period 1 January to 31 March 2019.

Group performance

The Group as a whole saw positive momentum carried into the first quarter of 2019. Trading performance is in line with our plan. Revenue and earnings grew compared to the same period in 2018.

In addition, the order pipeline remains robust and order intake for the period also showed solid growth compared with the same period in 2018.

As is typical for Spirent we expect a weighting to the second half of the year, with the usual uptick in the final quarter of the financial year. The Board remains confident in delivering further strategic progress in the year with no change to our outlook.

Networks & Security

We continue to maintain our leadership position in high-speed Ethernet test and showcased our capabilities at the OFC conference in San Diego with the world's highest-density 400/200/100/50 Gigabit Ethernet test system. We see robust demand for our GPS positioning products and will shortly launch our new Data Breach Assessment security solution for continuous automated assessment of security and data loss prevention policies, as demand for our leading security solutions continues to grow.

Lifecycle Service Assurance

A number of support contracts were secured in the period, originally expected late 2018, and our VisionWorks solution continues to be well received by our key customers. Demand for our Mobility products grew driven by 5G and other Landslide expansion opportunities. We secured key orders for 10G and 100G probes from a Tier 1 US network operator. Order intake momentum improved and revenue growth picked up in the quarter as a result.

We showcased our 5G test leadership at a public demonstration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where our Landslide solution was used to validate the conformance and performance of a 5G standalone core network.

Connected Devices

We continue to see relative stability in the smartphone test market and our strategic focus on developing 5G test capabilities is on track. We have expanded our routes to market and have won important 5G opportunities for our Wireless solutions in China and the Nordic region on the back of our strong technical support.

Commenting on the results, Eric Hutchinson, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"The year has started well with continued revenue and profit growth compared to the same period in 2018. Our pipeline remains robust, our market leading technologies, appropriate R&D investment and strong customer relationships continue to underpin our plans to support growth. We have also increased our customer key account reach and account management team to ensure we continue our focused approach to business growth."

Board update

As previously announced, Eric Updyke has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer from today.

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Enquiries

 
  Eric Updyke, Chief Executive       Spirent Communications 
   Officer                            plc                        [phone] 
  Paula Bell, Chief Financial 
   Officer 
 
  James Melville Ross/Dwight 
   Burden/                                                       [phone] 
   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 [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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May 01, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)