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(Alliance News) - Industrial equipment supplier Judges Scientific PLC on Wednesday lifted its interim dividend after a "strong" first half performance.
In the six months to June 30, revenue rose by 8.7% to a record GBP40.2 million from GBP37.0 million. Pretax profit rose 64% year-on-year to GBP6.9 million from GBP4.2 million.
On an adjusted basis, not including amortisation and share based payment costs, pretax profit climbed 27% to GBP8.4 million from GBP6.6 million.
The revenue rise was driven by growth in its Vacuum division, but slightly offset by a decline in the Material Sciences segment. The Vacuum business had a 17% revenue rise to GBP24.2 million from GBP20.7 million. The Material Sciences unit posted a 2.2% revenue decline to GBP15.9 million from GBP16.3 million.
The industrial equipment supplier hiked its interim dividend by 25% to 15.0 pence per share from 12.0p in the first half of 2018.
Looking ahead, Judges Scientific expects adjusted pretax profit for the full-year to beat market expectations of GBP15.0 million.
Chair Alex Hambro said: "The delivery of record revenue, adjusted profit before tax, earnings per share, cash generation and dividends for the first half is testament to the group's pursuit of operational excellence.
"Orders to date are in line with our expectations, despite a subdued second quarter. The strong first half financial performance and healthy order book give the board confidence that full year adjusted profit before tax and earnings per share will exceed current consensus market expectations."
Shares in the company were 7.5% higher at 3,697.00p apiece in London on Wednesday morning.