19th Mar 2020 09:15
(Alliance News) - Halma PLC on Thursday said it expects annual profit to be lower than market forecasts due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The stock was trading 1.6% higher at 1,806.07 pence each on Thursday morning in London, reversing an earlier drop to 1,693.00p.
The FTSE 100-listed hazard detection & life protection firm said it now expects adjusted pretax profit for the financial year to the end of March to be between GBP265 million to GBP270 million, lower than the average market forecast of GBP275.5 million. In financial 2019, Halma posted adjusted pretax profit of GBP245.7 million.
Halma said it had seen revenue growth in the UK and mainland Europe with "strong" growth in the US and Asia Pacific driven by acquisitions. In the past year, the company completed four acquisitions for total initial consideration of GBP227 million, with seven of the acquisitions completed in the second half of its financial year.
The Environmental & Analysis sector delivered "strong organic growth". Revenue from the Medical sector grew; however profit growth was lower. Second half performance in Process Safety was affected by weaker oil and gas markets, however, Halma said it expects the sector to deliver a "satisfactory" performance in the full year results.
Full unaudited results for financial 2020 will be published on June 11.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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