Reported figures for the first half of e2v Technologies ' (E2V) accounting year came up short of its 2015 comparatives due to delays in order placements that affected its professional imaging business stream. The comparative period's figures did benefit from a £2.6m contribution from the thermal imaging business sold in October 2015, but gross margins came under pressure from an unfavourable business mix as semiconductor sales tilted towards lower-margin lines. The end result was an 8 per cent fall in gross profits, an adequate reflection of e2v's tightening end markets through the period.
Management remains circumspect about e2v's full-year returns due to the inherent unpredictability of the big-ticket contracts linked to the group's space imaging business. Although these are essentially timing issues, and unavoidable given the nature of the long-dated projects the business serves, the lumpiness of the revenue stream does tend to distort group sales trends and gross margins. e2v expects to secure three key follow-on orders in space imaging in the latter part of its financial year, although management stressed that the timing of these awards is far from certain.