FILE PHOTO: The SpaceX logo is shown on a Falcon 9 rocket as it is prepared for launch to carry NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin to the International Space Station at the Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 2, 2024. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File photo
(Reuters) -Filtronic's shares surged 50% to a decade-high on Wednesday after the British engineering group deepened its partnership with SpaceX's Starlink platform and gave the Elon Musk-controlled company the option to take a stake.
Filtronic, which manufactures products for the aerospace, defence, space and telecom infrastructure markets, already supplies Starlink with E-band solid state power amplifiers (SSPA), which are used for low-earth orbit satellites.
The Leeds-based company said it will also develop and supply similar products at other frequency bands for Starlink, which provides internet services via low-earth orbit satellites.
SpaceX will also get 21.7 million warrants in Filtronic, enabling it to subscribe for up to 10% of its shares.
The partnership was executed with an initial purchase order of $19.7 million to supply E-band SSPA modules, scheduled for delivery in fiscal 2025, Filtronic said.
The company said it now expects fiscal 2025 results to surpass market expectations.
Its stock surged 50% to 49.1 pence, the highest in a decade, in morning trading. The company had a market value of about 71 million pounds (about $89 million) as of the close of trading on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8042 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
