15th May 2018 09:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Valves-maker Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC said Tuesday its 2018 organic sales growth over the year to date has been in line with the year prior amid positive global growth and as its acquisitions continued to integrate well.
Spirax-Sarco said the global industrial market remained "positive" with growth expected to be similar in 2018 as in 2017. As a result, organic sales growth in the first four months of the year to the end of April has been "very similar" to the year prior.
The FTSE 250-listed firm left its full-year expectations unchanged from March. For comparison, Spirax-Sarco saw 6% organic revenue growth in 2017, reporting GBP192.5 million pretax profit on GBP998.7 million revenue.
Spirax-Sarco added integration of its two recent acquisitions is progressing to schedule and the firms were trading in line with expectations.
Spirax-Sarco acquired US-based heating and temperature management company Chromalox Inc for USD415 million in May. This followed, in April, its EUR186 million buy of Germany-based boiler control system firm Gestra AG.
As expected, the currency tailwind of the last two years has become a headwind in the current financial year. Spirax-Sarco noted sterling - its reporting currency - has strengthened "slightly" against the baskets of currencies the company trades in.
Should April's foreign exchange rates remain static for the remainder of the year, Spirax-Sarco anticipates revenue to be 3% to 5% lower than the year prior at reported rates.
"We have good diversification across market sectors and geographic regions, and remain focused on the rigorous implementation of our strategies for growth," Spirax-Sarco said in a statement. "While, as normal, our short order book continues to provide only limited visibility, the group's fundamental strengths stand us in good stead to continue to deliver growth that outperforms our markets."
Shares in Spirax-Sarco were 0.2% higher at 5,990.00 pence on Tuesday.
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