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Halma raises interim dividend as FTSE 100 safety equipment group sees earnings rebound and strong order book
- Halma recorded an increase in turnover in the first half of the year as a result of acquisitions
- The company’s interim dividend per share was increased by 7% to 7.86p
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British technology group Halma posted an increase in turnover in the first half of the year following the acquisition of two companies.
The safety equipment maker said sales in the six months ended September 30 were up 19 per cent on a year ago, to £875.5 million.
Adjusted profit rose 11 per cent to £171.7 million or a share of 35.65 per annum, with strong growth across all sectors and regions, including organic and constant currency.
Increase: Halma posted an increase in revenues in the first half year and increased the interim dividend
“We saw strong demand for our companies’ products and services during that period,” said CEO Andrew Williams.
“Our order book is exceptionally strong and has grown from the record level at the beginning of the year. The order intake outperformed both turnover and the very strong order intake in the comparable period last year.’
The company’s interim dividend per share was increased by 7 percent to 7.86 pence.
On a statutory basis, profit before tax fell 13 per cent to £145.5 million and earnings per share fell 15 per cent to 30.39 pence.
However, that was the result of a gain on sales during the comparable period last year of £34 million. Excluding that income, statutory profit increased by 9 percent.
Group net debt almost doubled from £274.8m to £499.6m.
In the year to date there had been three acquisitions, two of which were made in the first half of the year, for an amount of £238 million.
In June, Halma reported a 20 percent increase in full-year profit and announced that CEO Andrew Williams would retire next year after 18 years at the helm.
Statutory profit before tax rose 20 per cent to £304.4 million, and the profit included a one-off gain of £34 million from the sale of electronic security systems supplier Texecom.
In June, Halma also said it expected to maintain high returns in fiscal year 2022-23 and return on sales similar to the second half of fiscal year 2021-22.
Chief Financial Officer Marc Ronchetti will take over from Andrew Williams as CEO in April. Prior to his appointment to Halma, Gunning was most recently CFO of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways.
Hama shares were down today, falling 3.87 percent or 91.00p this morning to 2,258.00p, after falling more than 27 percent in the past year.