A TECHNOLOGY firm will continue targeting new sectors to secure orders and maintain a recent resurgence, its boss has told The Northern Echo.

Filtronic is speaking to customers over potential deals to lock in fresh growth after a turnaround year reversed losses.

The business already has a multi-million pound national security deal and chief executive Rob Smith said that agreement can be a catalyst to build on traditional telecoms work.

The company, based at NetPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham, is known for developing the Orpheus e-band transceiver, which increases the amount and quality of data that networks, including the telecoms sector, can carry.

It has undergone a period of rebuilding after the “lumpy” telecoms market compounded the impact of a quicker-than-expected TV anti-interference filter deal culmination, and while admitting it “isn’t out of the woods” just yet, Mr Smith said it is making good progress.

Speaking today (Tuesday, August 1) to The Northern Echo, he said: “A truism about Filtronic is that it has had good years in the past, it has had some wonderful years too, but it has not been able to sustain that and has had lumpy periods.

“We are not out of the woods yet, by any means, but we are working to move away from the lumpiness.

“It’s all about being more engaged with more customers and broadening our customer base, so you don’t go back down to zero.

“It will give us a more sustainable level.”

Highlighting the need to augment its existing outlook, Mr Smith pointed to its security deal, which is focused on supplying high-frequency modules to a defence equipment maker for aerospace work.

He added: “We have had a good year in terms of sales growth but the market is still a difficult market and we are still in that world where we have to work hard.

“However, the aerospace deal adds some certainty for a period of time and all in all, it has been a positive year with lots of good things happening.”

Mr Smith was speaking as the business unveiled full-year results for the period to May 31, which showed sales revenue was up 160 per cent year-on-year to £35.4m, with pre-tax profit rebounding to £2.2m from a previous £7m loss.

Last month, the Echo revealed Filtronic was working alongside a US customer on a product aimed at improving broadband provision by providing fast and reliable data connections without the disruption and cost of laying swathes of cabling underneath roads and footpaths.

However, the company also sees 5G as another area to find an advantage, with the change expected to provide technology users with even more capacity than their existing 4G level.

Mr Smith said Filtronic’s highfrequency apparatus will leave it well placed in this shift, since it can cope with the extra data requirements.

He said: “There is some good things being done on the necessary building blocks for 5G and we would like to think we are quite well placed to participate in 5G spend.

“We have got some good technology and clever engineers and technical people who have a lot to offer.”

The Echo previously revealed the business, which employs more than 60 staff in the region, plans to create a number of jobs over the coming 12 months.