Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc on Tuesday published first-half results “materially ahead of the board’s expectations.”

The Linlithgow firm declared its first ever interim dividend — of 0.28p per share — and said it was “in line with the board’s intention to implement a progressive dividend policy in the year to 31 March 2022.”

Calnex reported revenue growth of 20% on the prior year to £9.3 million and the group’s adjusted profit before tax held steady at £2.3 million for the six months ended September 30, 2021.

Revenues from the Americas region increased 22%, whilst the Rest of the World experienced a 33% uplift.

North Asia remained flat due in part to the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.

“Given the overall growth in revenues, the geographical revenue split has shifted slightly in the first six months, with Americas now accounting for 35% of total revenues (FY21: 32%), ROW 41% (FY21: 35%) and North Asia 24% (FY21: 33%),” said Calnex in its stock exchange statement.

Calnex went public at 48p per share in October 2020 and has risen about 125% since the listing, reaching £1.48 earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Calnex shares slipped 6% to around £1.24 to give the firm a current stock market value of roughly £107 million.

Customers of Calnex include BT, China Mobile, NTT, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, Qualcomm, IBM and Facebook.

Calnex founder and CEO Tommy Cook said: “These results mark another considerable step forward for Calnex, as we continue to capitalise on the global telecom industry’s transition to 5G and the growth of cloud computing.

“The results for the first half of FY22 are materially ahead of the board’s expectations at the start of the year, as indicated in the company’s trading update issued in October 2021, and confidence levels remain high with the early signs being that sales momentum will continue in the second half of the year.

“We have invested in our team and resources and the continued positive response to the new product launches provides optimism towards the long-term demand for our offering.

“The breadth of our customer base across multiple regions, combined with the ongoing successful expansion of the team, our customer relationships and industry connections, places us in a strong position to continue to benefit from the underlying market growth drivers in the telecoms market.”