(Alliance News) - Hill & Smith PLC on Wednesday said it upped its full year profit forecast for financial 2022 as revenue from continuing operations is ahead of the same period last year.
The Solihull, England-based infrastructure company said revenue in the four months to October 31 is up 18% year-on-year, following pricing actions to offset cost input inflation.
Operating margins are ahead of the first half of 2022 and the same period last year.
Growth was delivered across all divisions, with profit increases across both the Engineered Solutions and Roads & Security divisions. The latter experienced delays to road upgrades. Hill & Smith said this resulted in lower temporary safety barrier utilisation than expected, but was offset by "strong" demand for the UK security portfolio.
Hill & Smith said its Galvanizing division has performed strongly, supported by pricing actions and good volume growth in the US.
The company now forecasts full year underlying operating profit for 2022 to be above the top end of market expectations, which range from GBP84.9 million to GBP89.7 million. For 2021, it posted an underlying operating profit of GBP86.0 million.
Looking ahead, Hill & Smith said it expects to see improvement in cash generation during the second half of financial 2022.
Hill & Smith said: "While mindful of current macroeconomic uncertainty, the group has a proven track record of resilience and, with exposure to the structural growth markets of sustainable infrastructure and safe transport, is well positioned to deliver against its strategic goals. Consequently, we expect to make further progress in 2023."
Hill & Smith shares were up 3.9% to 1,134.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Jaskeet Briah; jaskeetbriah@alliancenews.com
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Hill & Smith (HILS)