Judges Scientific earnings set to beat expectations

Scientific instrument investor and developer Judges Scientific said in an update on Thursday that throughout 2022, it contended with increasing supply chain issues, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and “significant” inflationary pressures, while continuing to recover from Covid-19 challenges.

The AIM-traded company said that despite a “difficult” external environment, its business model showed “resilience” as it further executed its strategy.

Organic order intake was up 0.5% compared with the record performance Judges reached in 2021.

Following a “solid” first half, the board said organic intake softened in the second half, but picked up strongly in December with the relaxation of China's Covid-19 restrictions.

Organic revenues increased 8% compared to 2021.

As organic order intake exceeded organic revenue, the organic order book at year-end on 31 December increased to 21.1 weeks, from 19.8 weeks at the end of 2021.

“At the end of May, the group completed its largest acquisition to date - Geotek - for a total consideration of up to £80m,” the board said in its statement.

“As anticipated at the time of the group's interim results in September, Geotek has delivered a strong contribution in the second half of the financial year, with the board expecting it to have generated the level of profits required to trigger the maximum earn-out.

“As a result of the solid organic performance together with the first-year contribution from Geotek, the board anticipates that adjusted earnings per share for 2022 will be modestly ahead of current market expectations.”

Judges Scientific said it would announce its full-year results for the year ended 31 December on 22 March.

At 1520 GMT, shares in Judges Scientific were up 0.25% at 7,970p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.