Elon Musk’s SpaceX has awarded a contract to Filtronic worth $20.9 million, sending shares of the British telecom-equipment firm soaring on Monday.
The Sedgefield-based company said it was confident that it would exceed market expectations for revenue and profit both this year and next as a result of winning the contract.
Filtronic’s stock jumped as much as 15% after the news emerged. The firm’s shares were already up more than 150% over the past year.
Last week, Filtronic said its results for the first half of the fiscal year had already been boosted by strong orders from SpaceX, lifting its revenue to £25.6 million ($31.7 million) from £8.5 million in the same period a year earlier.
The company swung to a profit of £6.7 million in the first half, from a loss of £0.5 million a year earlier.
SpaceX became Filtronic’s largest customer after the British engineering firm began supplying ground-based modules that amplify radio frequency signals for the Starlink constellation of satellites.
Starlink provides internet services through its network of low-Earth orbit satellites. As SpaceX launches more satellites to expand its constellation, the company has to expand its ground stations to ensure high speeds and low-latency within its network.
Filtronic signed a five-year strategic partnership with SpaceX in April last year, which included a provision to issue warrants for the U.S. space technology company to take a maximum 10% stake.
SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., now dominates the launch business, sending satellites and payloads into space for NASA, the Pentagon and other clients.
Musk’s businesses have seen their valuations soar since the U.S. election in November. Investors are betting that his strong ties to President Donald Trump will result in more favorable regulations, subsidies or policies for Musk’s many ventures.
Filtronic was founded in 1977 as a spin-off from the University of Leeds. The company initially set out to design electronic components for Tornado aircraft. Filtronic went public on the London Stock Exchange in October 1994, and its market value peaked at around £1.5 billion during the dotcom era. At the close of trading on Monday, the company was valued at £203 million.
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