Focusrite’s (TUNE) shares jumped as much as 7 per cent in morning trading, after management said that revenue and profits are likely to beat market expectations for the 2020 financial year.
The group revealed that demand for Focusrite Audio Engineering and ADAM Audio products had been resilient during lockdown, supported by their availability on e-commmerce platforms.
Management noted signs of growing consumer demand, with a rise in registrations of products that are primarily focused on home recording. Reseller demand also improved - albeit levels are expected to return to normal as lockdowns lift.
The cancellation of live music tours and festivals hurt demand for its Martin Audio products, which the company described as "significantly lower than pre-Covid levels", although there are some early signs of recovery driven by the installed sound segment. The Focusrite Pro segment also suffered, but there is activity in the pipeline here across education, post-production and installed sound.
The group has now decided to pay an interim dividend of 1.3p, up by 8.3 per cent from the comparative period. This will be distributed by the end of the current year.
