Halma says order intake ahead of revenue

3rd Dec 2009 07:01

Engineering conglomerate Halma reported slightly lower half year profits but said order intake was lightly ahead of revenue.Pre-tax profit from continuing operations was down 2% at £38.1m in the 27 weeks to 3 October from £39m after incurring £1.7m of restructuring costs. Statutory pre-tax profit was down 1% at 35.4m.Analysts expected the sensors company to post pre-tax profits of between £33.6m and £38.7m. Revenue from continuing operations was held steady at £222.1m (2008/09: £221.7m), while order intake in the first half was 2% ahead of revenue.The group increased its interim dividend again, by another 5%. Halma has a proud record of raising its dividends every year for thirty years.'We are not assuming any recovery in our markets in the remainder of this financial year, although order intake during the first half was slightly ahead of revenue,' said chief executive Andrew Williams.'After a solid first half and with our reduced cost base, if current demand levels remain stable, we have the opportunity to achieve an improved performance in the second half.'