Spectris holds guidance as Q1 sales rise 24% on strong order book

Precision instrument maker Spectris held annual guidance as first quarter sales rose 24% driven by a strong order book and easing of supply chain constraints.

The company on Thursday said group like-for-like sales increased came in at £354m. It said the strong start to the year reinforces confidence in delivering full year guidance of 6-7% organic sales growth and strong margin expansion, with weighting of profit expected to be higher than normal in the first half of the year.

"We have made a very strong start to the year, building on the momentum from the second half last year, with our revenue performance supported by improving conversion of order backlog, market share gains, recent new product launches and sustainability drivers,” said chief executive Andrew Heath.

“As expected, margins continue to improve, reflecting the easing of supply chains and our actions on pricing and operational efficiencies. Our performance in the first quarter, alongside a record order book, reinforces our confidence in delivering our targets for the full year. “

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com