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(Alliance News) - Halma PLC on Thursday said its profit declined in the first half of its financial year, with the UK proving its weakest region during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the FTSE 100 constituent upgraded guidance.
Shares in Halma were up 3.3% at 2,428.00 pence in London in morning trading.
For the six months ended September 30, the FTSE 100 hazard detection and life protection technologies manufacturer reported a GBP96.3 million pretax profit, down 9.0% from GBP105.8 million.
This came as revenue dropped 5.4% to GBP618.4 million from GBP653.7 million, including a 17% drop in UK revenue to GBP87.6 million from GBP105.2 million.
In the UK, its Environmental & Analysis and Infrastructure Safety sectors drove the decline, with Process Safety proving "more resilient".
Amersham-based Halma said: "All our major regions were adversely affected by the impact of Covid-19 during the period. We delivered revenue growth in the US and moderate revenue declines in Mainland Europe and Asia Pacific, despite growth in China. There was a weaker performance in the UK, although trends have been improving."
The company increased its interim dividend 5.0% to 6.87p per share from 6.54p. Halma said this reflected the board's "continued confidence in the group's resilience and long-term growth prospects."
Chief Executive Andrew Williams said: "We have had a good start to the second half, with order intake ahead of revenue and up on the same period last year. Our improving trading performance, together with our strong cash position, will enable us to accelerate strategic investments in the second half of the year. As a result of our progress so far this year, we now expect adjusted profit before tax for [financial 2021] to be around 5% below [financial 2020], compared to prior guidance of 5% to 10% below [financial 2020]."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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