A Q1 trading update from engineers Smiths Group was published this morning, noting organic revenue growth of 15.8% for the period and the momentum here has been sufficient to see management upgrade guidance for the full year. Revenues are now expected to be 5-7% higher, up from the previous forecast of 4-6%, whilst the existing share buyback scheme is also being extended by a further £50. This has been sufficient to drive the Smiths Group share price to the top of the FTSE-100, up 15% well before 9am.
Another engineering company publishing an update today was Babcock, where interim results painted an upbeat picture. Sales are up by more than 10%, operating profits jumped by more than a quarter and the dividend is almost 20% higher, too. With 95% of FY25 forecast revenue now under contract, expectations for the year remain unchanged and management are confident in making further progress against medium term guidance. Babcock shares are up 9% in the first hour of trade.
A trading update from FTSE-250 listed engineers Dowlais Group was also released today. There were no real surprises in the numbers with performance being in line with forecasts and management noting they expected market volatility to persist for some time yet. Sales were down just over 6% but clearly investors were impressed and the fact the Driveline division managed to outperform has also delivered some cheer. Dowlais shares are sitting 14% higher in early trade.
Headlines we expect tomorrow
B&M European Value Retail Interim Results
This time last year Revenues £2.549bn, Operating profit £263m, Interim dividend 5.1p
WH Smiths Final Results
This time last year Revenue £1.793bn, Pre-tax profit £143m, Total dividend for year 28.9p
