13th Nov 2019 08:47
(Alliance News) - Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC on Wednesday said sales growth slowed in the second half of its current financial year
The manufacturer of steam management systems said its organic sales growth rate in the four months to October 31 slipped from what was achieved in the first six months of the year, but it continued to outperform industrial production growth.
More positively, operating profit is ahead of the comparable ten-month period last year at constant currency, both on an organic basis and when the effects of acquisition and disposal are included.
By division, Spirax-Sarco said sales growth in the Steam Specialties business has softened, as expected, with the slowdown being more pronounced in Europe, the Middle East and Africa than in the Americas and Asia Pacific.
Meanwhile, growth in the Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology unit continues to be "strong", Spirax-Sarco noted, above that seen in the first half of the year.
The Cheltenham, England-headquartered company said its Chromalox division saw marginal growth in the four months to the end of October, and therefore reduced annual forecasts for industrial production in its core US market.
The integration of Thermocoax, which joined Spirax-Sarco in May, continues to progress well, the company said, and its overall performance remains in line with expectations.
The net effect of this acquisition combined with the disposal of HygroMatik in December last year will increase Spirax-Sarco's full-year sales by 1.5%, it said.
Looking ahead, the FTSE 100 company said industrial production growth rates are forecast to continue to slow for the remainder of the year in both developed and emerging markets and while predictions for 2020 are less clear.
"Notwithstanding the economic backdrop, we continue with our investment programmes to support future growth and the implementation of our strategy to generate growth from our own actions to outperform our markets," Spirax-Sarco said in its statement Wednesday.
The company added: "Our overall expectations for the full year are unchanged, and the board has confidence that the group will make further progress in 2019."
Spirax Sarco expects to publish its 2019 results on March 11.
The stock was trading 0.2% lower in London on Wednesday morning at 8,200.00 pence.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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