RS Group interim revenues decline

Industrial and electrical products distributor RS Group revealed on Tuesday that revenues had declined in the six months ended 30 September.

RS Group said interim revenues had dropped 8% on a like-for-like basis to £144.0bn, while adjusted operating profits were down 21% at £156.0m. Adjusted earnings per share tumbled 32% on a LFL basis at 22.3p.

The FTSE 100-listed group's adjusted operating margin was down 2.6 basis points at 10.8%, adjusted free can flow slumped 77% to £26.0m and the group swung from net cash of £3.0m on 30 September 2023 to a net debt position of £502.0m a year later.

However, RS Group still chose to hike its interim dividend by 15% to 8.3p as it said it delivered "a resilient performance in difficult markets".

Chief executive Simon Pryce said: "Industrial revenue has been robust despite the challenging macro and geopolitical environment but cyclical weakness in electronics has been exasperated by customer de-stocking.

"Whilst markets remain difficult in the short term, the medium and longer-term growth characteristics are attractive. We are managing our costs more appropriately whilst continuing to invest in key strategic accelerators."

As of 0900 GMT, RS shares were down 4.69% at 650.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com