Shares in Halma, the safety products conglomerate, soared to a three-year peak on Thursday after the FTSE 100 company's first-half revenue broke through the £1bn barrier for the first time. The venerable 130 year old firm, which specialises in safety and equipment manufacturing, announced a record-breaking revenue of £1.1bn for the six months ending on 30 September, marking a 13% increase from the corresponding period last year.
This surge in revenue contributed to a 16% rise in Halma's pre-tax profit, reaching £174m, prompting the company to raise its interim dividend by 7% to 9p per share. Following the announcement, Halma's shares experienced a significant uptick, climbing as much as 10.4% in early trading to hit their highest level since January 2022.
The impressive revenue figures were largely driven by robust growth in Halma's environmental and safety divisions, which saw increases of 27% and 11% respectively, helping to balance the more subdued performance of its healthcare segment. Marc Ronchetti, the CEO of Halma, remarked: "These results further extend our track record of delivering strong and compounding revenue and profit growth, substantial cash generation enabling continued investment, and returns well above our cost of capital, while growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day."
Over the course of the six months, Halma completed four acquisitions and followed up with another three, amounting to a maximum expenditure of £158m.
Based in Amersham, Halma's expansion strategy is centred around providing capital, IT, and additional investments to the small and medium-sized enterprises it acquires, steering them through a decentralised management model, as reported by .
Matt Britzman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: "The company's focus on sustainability and long-term trends like stricter safety rules and climate change solutions keeps it ahead of the curve," He added: "With a series of smart acquisitions boosting its portfolio, Halma's steady strategy and innovative approach show it's not just growing it's thriving."
Halma has reiterated its guidance for the full year, forecasting a pretax earnings margin of approximately 21 per cent. This metric was recorded at 20.7 per cent for the first half of the year.
The group's most recent annual results, for the year to March, marked the 21st consecutive year of revenue and profit growth.
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