Gooch and Housego reported its interim results for the six months to March-end on Tuesday, with shares falling on the back of the announcement.

The company, which specialises in manufacturing optical components and systems, warned that full-year profits would be between £3.5 million and £4 million.

Whilst revenue for the period grew by 7.4%, the company said that the industrial laser market had proved ‘challenging’.

This was attributed to risks in the microelectronics sector, alongside geo-political uncertainties such as the ongoing US/China trade dispute.

In addition, Gooch & Housego said it would increase its interim dividend increased to 4.3p, up slightly from 4.2p the year before.

This was said to be ‘reflective of the Board’s longer term confidence in the business’ whilst also recognising ‘challenging industrial laser trading conditions’.

Mark Webster, Chief Executive of the firm, commented:

“Trading in the last six months has reflected trends previously reported. G&H has long been aware of the risks associated with the cyclical nature of the microelectronics sector and more recently the continued impact of the US/ China trade dispute. Our industrial laser order book has increased since our last update, but we now forecast the industrial laser business will not return to ‘normal’ levels in FY 2019.

In a separate release, it was also announced that its chief operating officer Alex Warnock is to step down from his role.

Gooch & Housego said in the statement that they would not replace Warnock, and instead the three manufacturing heads would report directly to the chief executive of the company.

Shares in the firm (LON:GHH) are currently trading down -22.52% as of 13:43PM (GMT).