HIGH-tech company Oxford Instruments says it is confident that trading will meet expectations, despite the recession.

in a statement to the stockmarket, it said performance in the final quarter of 2009 was above the same period in 2008, helped by the effects of last year's restructuring programme and favourable currency movements.

The shake-up involved 80 job losses at its headquarters in Tubney Woods, near Abingdon.

The company, whose tools are used to detect lead levels in paint and to develop brake discs for Formula One cars, said net debt at the end of December stood at £19.1m, helped by £10.2m received from the European nuclear fusion project Iter.

The statement said: "Our research markets remain robust. The tentative signs of improvement in our industrial markets that we commented upon in our half-year report continue, albeit from a low level."