5th Mar 2015 07:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC on Thursday added its name to the list of UK engineering companies which saw results held back by the strength of sterling in 2014, with the company reporting a small fall in pretax profit, though the company sweetened the pill with a GBP91 million return of capital.
FTSE 250 constituent Spirax-Sarco said its pretax profit for 2014 edged down to GBP144.8 million from GBP145.7 million last year, as revenue fell to GBP678.3 million from GBP689.4 million. At constant exchange rates, revenue rose by 5%, the company said.
Despite the fall in pretax profit, the company said it will increase its final dividend payment to 45 pence per share, from 41 pence last year, meaning its total dividend for the year will be 64.5 pence, up 9% on the 59 pence per share paid a year earlier.
In addition to the dividend hike, the company said it would return GBP91 million to shareholders via a special dividend, translating to 120 pence per share.
"The good results in 2014 again demonstrate the fundamental strengths and resilience of our business, with record profits and margin improvement achieved against an unhelpful economic background and a stiff currency headwind," said Chief Executive Nick Anderson.
"We are increasing investment and adding resources in support of our growth strategy and we are confident that, through these actions, we can continue to outperform our markets and deliver further improvements in our business," Anderson added.
In a separate statement Thursday, Spirax-Sarco added it will start direct operations in India and will exit its existing joint venture in the country.
Spirax said it will sell its stake in its joint venture with Forbes Marshall Pvt Ltd to its partner for GBP6.5 million in cash. This will be replaced by a direct sales team in India, which is currently preparing to start operation by the middle of 2015.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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