Oxford Instruments sees full-year profit in line with last year

(Reuters) - Technology tools maker Oxford Instruments Plc said it expects full-year performance to be in line with the prior year, after benefits from the acquisition of imaging specialist Andor Technology were offset by a strengthening pound. The company said trading was strong in the last quarter of the year ended March 31. Analysts on average expected a pretax profit of 47.15 million pounds ($78.43 million) for the year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Oxford Instruments, which makes CT and MRI maintenance systems and parts, cryogenic systems and nanotechnology tools, reported an adjusted pretax profit of 48.20 million pounds on revenue of 350.8 million pounds in the year ended March 2013. The pound appreciated 9.45 percent against the dollar in the year through March 2014. The currency hit a five-year high against a host of currencies including the dollar in mid-February on expectations that the Bank of England would be the first major central bank to raise interest rates. Oxford gets only 9 percent of its total revenue from the UK, while about 25 percent comes from North America. The company said last December that it would acquire AIM-listed Andor Technology for about 175 million pounds. The acquisition was expected to add to its earnings in the first full financial year following completion. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)