By Spirax-Sarco Engineering, a London-listed steam-system engineering company, announced that its pretax profit for the first half of the year has fallen. This decrease was attributed to higher costs and a weaker economic backdrop in China, which has impacted customer demand. Additionally, broader macroeconomic uncertainties have led to customers deferring project orders.
For the half year ended June 30, the company reported a pretax profit of £114 million, compared to £138.5 million in the previous year. This figure missed the consensus estimate of £161 million. After excluding exceptional and other one-off costs, the adjusted pretax profit was £153.5 million, down from £175.2 million.
Revenue for the period increased to £850.8 million, surpassing the company-complied consensus of £838 million. In light of these results, the board has declared an interim dividend of 46.0 pence per share, up from 42.5 pence in the first half of last year.
Looking ahead, Spirax-Sarco Engineering anticipates a negative impact on full-year sales and adjusted operating profit due to the continued appreciation of the pound, estimating a 2.0% to 2.5% decline.
The company also stated that it expects ongoing challenges in the biopharm and semiconductor WFE sectors for the remainder of the year. However, it anticipates that biopharm customer demand will normalize by 2024.
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