Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) has announced its half year results for the 6 months ended 31 January 2025.
· Continued strong financial performance: +9.1% organic1 revenue growth, +50bps organic operating profit margin expansion to 16.7% and +14.0% headline2 EPS growth
· Reaffirming full year guidance, raised twice this fiscal year, of 6-8% organic revenue growth and margin expansion of 40-60bps
· Disciplined capital allocation with enhanced returns: +5% increase in dividend; £150m of £500m share buyback completed, £97m invested in accretive acquisitions, with a further £32m bolt-on acquisition announced today
· Strategic actions to unlock significant value announced in January. Separation processes for Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection underway. Continued execution of the Acceleration Plan
· Focus on high-performance industrial technology businesses of John Crane and Flex-Tek with significant opportunities to enhance growth, improve the financial profile and deliver strong returns
· New, enhanced medium-term financial targets for FutureSmiths3 with higher growth, margin and returns
Roland Carter, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We have delivered another strong financial performance which, combined with ongoing strategic and operational progress, underpins our confidence in achieving our twice-raised full year guidance.
“The portfolio actions that we announced in January 2025 are being advanced with pace and purpose, with the separation processes for Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection underway.
“The attraction of FutureSmiths is compelling. By focusing on our world-class, high-performance John Crane and Flex-Tek businesses we will deliver sustainable growth, higher margins, returns and earnings growth, as reflected in our new enhanced medium-term financial targets. Our strong cash generation enables us to continue to invest in the business organically, and inorganically, whilst being able to distribute significant capital to shareholders. We believe this will deliver substantial value creation.
“My thanks to all our Smiths colleagues across the world for your ongoing dedication and commitment as we work through these plans. We remain focused on achieving our purpose of engineering a better future, for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”
| Headline2 | HY2025 | HY2024 | Reported | Organic1 |
| Revenue | £1,608m | £1,507m | +6.7% | +9.1% |
| Operating profit | £269m | £246m | +9.5% | +12.6% |
| Operating profit margin4 | 16.7% | 16.3% | +40bps | +50bps |
| Basic EPS | 55.5p | 48.7p | +14.0% | |
| ROCE4 | 17.1% | 15.7% | +140bps | |
| Operating cash conversion4 | 94% | 89% | +5pps |
| Statutory | HY2025 | HY2024 | Reported |
| Revenue | £1,608m | £1,507m | +6.7% |
| Operating profit | £242m | £192m | +26.0% |
| Profit for the half year (after tax) | £168m | £111m | +51.4% |
| Basic EPS | 48.8p | 32.0p | +52.5% |
| Dividend per share | 14.23p | 13.55p | +5.0% |
Statutory reporting and definitions
Statutory reporting takes account of all items excluded from headline performance. See accounting policies for an explanation of the presentation of results and note 3 to the financial statements for an analysis of non-headline items. The following definitions are applied throughout the financial report:
1 Organic is headline adjusted to exclude the effects of foreign exchange and acquisitions.
2 Headline: In addition to statutory reporting, the Group reports on a headline basis. Definitions of headline metrics, and information about the adjustments to statutory measures, are provided in note 3 to the financial statements.
3 FutureSmiths refers to Smiths Group excluding Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect.
4 Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are defined in note 19 to the financial statements.
Presentation
A webcast presentation and Q&A will begin at 08.00 (UK time) today at: https://smiths.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations. A recording will be available from 13.00 (UK time).
