Smiths interims rise but warns on tough aviation market

Diversified UK engineer Smiths Group reported a rise in interim profit but said it expected a more challenging aviation market in an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment.

The company on Friday posted an 14% rise in operating profit to £189.9m. It also held guidance for full-year revenue growth of 3%.

On a pre-tax basis, profits almost doubled to £160m for the six months to January 31. Revenue increased to £1.19bn from £1.15bn in the company’s first results since it offloaded its medical division.

Underlying profit climbed 11.1% year-on-year to £189m.

Smiths also said it had suspended sales in Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine and said the war as a "moderate risk" to growth due to its impact on global supply chains.

It added that it was managing cost inflation but warned it expected a more challenging original equipment market for its aviation division in the near term.

The board declared an interim dividend of 12.3p a share, up from 11.7p a year prior.