Raspberry Pi profits higher than expected after stock market float

UK budget computer firm Raspberry Pi has revealed that profits were stronger than expected in its first update since floating on the London stock market earlier this year.

Shares in the company swung higher in early trading on Tuesday as a result.

The Cambridge-based company raised £178.9 million in an initial public offering (IPO) in June, in a major boost to the London Stock Exchange following a dearth of new listings over the past year.

Earlier this week, the company was added to the FTSE 250 index.

It said it was aided by “strong uptake” of its Raspberry Pi5 product.

As a result, the group said: “Having previously expected performance to be weighted towards the second half of the year, this is no longer the case, with profitability in the first half ahead of internal expectations.”

Raspberry Pi added that it now anticipates higher unit volumes for the second half of this year on the back of new product launches.

Eben Upton, chief executive of Raspberry Pi, said: “In continued pleasing trading in the first half, we saw strong uptake of our latest flagship SBC (single board computer), Raspberry Pi5, the launch of the Raspberry Pi AI Kit, and the successful ramp to production of RP2350, our second-generation microcontroller platform.

“The higher than usual customer and channel inventory levels which were evident at the time of the IPO have continued to unwind, and there is a growing sense that this will have concluded by the year end.

“We have an extraordinary team, a world-class product set backed up by an exciting future road map, and a loyal and engaged customer base that we can continue to grow.”