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Major manufacturer TT Electronics warns US tariffs 'could cast doubt' on trading ability

Apr 9, 2026 By

An electronics manufacturer has warned that US tariffs could impact its ability to keep operating.

TTE Electronics has bases in Asia, North America and five sites around the UK alongside its Woking headquarters, including a facility in Bedlington specialising in R&D and semiconductors. New results show strong performance in Europe and the UK was offset by slumping demand in the US. Overall, it chalked up £521.1m in revenues, down from £613.9m. The previous year’s operating profit of £3m was converted to a loss of £23.5m.

The Stock Exchange-listed business, which engineers and manufactures products to support sectors from healthcare to aerospace, posted a pre-tax loss of £33.4m for 2024, and said the import taxes and retaliatory measures had led to an “uncertain and volatile” backdrop.

In the UK, the firm has nine bases including sites in Abercynon, Bedlington, Fairford, Eastleigh, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, and Barnstaple, having divested its sites in Hartlepool and Cardiff during the year. Its Bedlington base, founded in 1937, has 414 employees helping to produce microelectronics and resistors used by global manufacturers in the aerospace and defence markets.

It has previously warned of difficulty in its US branch, with falling demand for the components it produces and ongoing production issues at its factories, which have led to it booking a £52.2m write-down. The first half of the year also saw 500 redundancies in its North America operations, which it expects to result in £12m of annual cost savings.

Bosses warned that the recent US global tariffs, leading to retaliatory charges from some countries including China, had led to an “uncertain and volatile macroeconomic backdrop which could have an impact beyond that assumed in the severe downside case”.

That means conditions could worsen beyond its worst-case scenario, particularly if US customers cut back on orders, which could impact its ability to keep operating and being profitable in the year ahead.

It said: “The board is mindful of the increased market uncertainty arising from the recently announced trade tariffs and the potential impact on demand patterns. The recent introduction of US global tariffs and certain retaliatory tariffs provide an uncertain and volatile macroeconomic backdrop which could have an impact beyond that assumed in the severe downside case.

"This has led the board to conclude that it is not possible to be certain of meeting the covenant test in certain extreme scenarios, in particular where customer reticence in placing orders against the backdrop of tariff uncertainty reduces order intake. These matters represent a material uncertainty which may cast doubt upon the group’s ability and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the period up to 30 June 2026.”

It also now expects to report adjusted operating profit of between £32m and £40m for the year ahead, down from the £40m to £46m previously forecast. TT Electronics also announced its chief executive Peter France was stepping down “with immediate effect” and has been replaced by finance chief Eric Lakin on an interim basis. It also announced it is “assessing all options” for its struggling components division.

Despite the warning, it said contract awards and growth drivers within the UK and Europe are “giving us confidence as we look forward”, with highlights including a two-year contract secured by the Bedlington team from a medical device innovator for the production of high voltage chip resistors.

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