Diploma first half profits boosted by weak pound

The post-Brexit vote slump in sterling helped boost half year profits at diversified technical group Diploma to £33m from £25.6m.

Revenue rose 21% to £217.3m, while adjusted operating profit increased by 21% to £37.4m. After adjusting for incremental contributions from acquisitions and translational currency effects, underlying revenues were up 6%.

The group's free cash flow for the period fell £2.5m to £20.5m, partly due to higher investment in working capital, but also reflecting the proceeds from one-off property sales in last year's figure.

The interim dividend was increased 13.0% to 7p a share.

Chief executive Bruce Thompson said that while currency movements would provide less benefit in the second half, the global trading environment was expected to provide opportunities for continued underlying growth in the group's key markets.

“The complementary acquisition of Abacus in April 2017 adds critical mass and opens up further growth opportunities for our healthcare business. Acquisitions remain an integral part of the group's growth strategy and the pipeline for acquisitions remains encouraging,” he said.