27th Feb 2015 08:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Instrumentation and controls company Spectris PLC Friday reported a fall in pretax profit and sales in 2014, as its was hit by challenging market conditions in Europe and China, but said it should get a boost from acquisitions and new product investments in 2015.
The company said its pretax profit for the year was GBP171.1 million, down 37% from GBP271.7 million in 2013, as sales fell 2% to GBP1.17 billion, from GBP1.20 billion. A strong year of trading in North America was offset by weakness in its European and Chinese markets, it said.
But the company has hiked its dividend to 46.5 pence, up 9% year-on-year and comprising a 30.5 pence final dividend and a 16 pence interim dividend.
"Trading in 2014 was principally driven by a strong North American performance, partly offset by more challenging conditions in the Eurozone and China. Assuming a similar macroeconomic environment in 2015, we expect to deliver progress as we benefit from our investment in new products and from the acquisitions made during 2014 and the early part of 2015," said Spectris Chief Executive John O'Higgins.
"These investments, together with our broad end-market exposure and strong financial position, provide the board of Spectris with confidence that the company is well-positioned for 2015 and beyond," O'Higgins added.
Shares in Spectris were up 0.2% to 2,209.00 pence at the open Friday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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