Judges Scientific hikes expectations after strong first half

Scientific instrument company Judges Scientific reported an 8% improvement in first-half revenue on Thursday, to £46.4m.

The AIM-traded firm said adjusted pre-tax profit was ahead 13.4% year-on-year for the six months ended 30 June, at £9.6m.

Adjusted basic earnings per share came in at 124.6p, up 12.3%, while cash generated from operations 2.5% firmer at £8.2m.

The board hiked the interim dividend by 15.8% to 22p per share.

Looking ahead, Judges said the external environment was still “challenging”, with variations between local markets and between the various scientific disciplines served.

It also pointed to the resurgence of inflation, which was being somewhat mitigated by sterling’s weakness.

Organic orders remained positive, the board said, and to the end of August were up 3% compared to the same period in 2021, while the organic order book at the end of August stood at 21 weeks.

A “strong” second half was expected from Geotek, with the board now expecting that the full earn-out would be payable.

Judges Scientific’s board said it now expected that the group would be “significantly ahead” of existing market expectations for the current year.

“During the period, the group generated record organic order intake, revenues and profits in spite of increasing supply chain challenges, whilst still continuing to recover from the challenges created by Covid-19,” said chairman Alex Hambro.

“At the end of May, the group completed its largest acquisition to date, Geotek.”

Hambro said that after four months of ownership, the board expected a “strong contribution” from Geotek for the second half, resulting in adjusted earnings per share being “significantly ahead” of current market expectations.

“The resilience of the group's business model alongside the hard work by all our colleagues have once again been evident throughout the period and are reflected in the results.”

At 0900 BST, shares in Judges Scientific were up 2.09% at 7,800p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.