22 September 2010 – interim results
The scientific instrument group has announced excellent interim results for the six months to 30 June with record sales of £7.6m, an increase of 69% on the first half of 2009. Adjusted pre-tax profit was also a record and was 73% higher at £1.465m with earnings per share on the same basis being 45% higher at a record 22.5p. An interim dividend of 2.5p (2009: 1.3p) was declared. Net debt at the end of the period was £1.2m (31 Dec 2009: £1.0m) despite spending £1m on the acquisition of Sircal.
These are clearly excellent results and demonstrate the resilience of the group’s business. The second half has started well and pre-tax profits for the full year are likely to be significantly ahead of previous expectations of £1.9m for earnings per share of 32p. We believe that EPS for the year could be in excess of 40p – despite today’s rise the shares still look CHEAP.