Vesuvius sees FY trading profit at top end of expectations

Molten metal flow engineer Vesuvius said on Monday that full-year trading profit was set to be towards to the top of the range of analyst expectations following better-than-expected trading in May and June.

The group expects earnings before interest and tax for the first half to be £127.4m.

The performance was achieved despite ongoing end market weakness, it said. This was thanks to the successful implementation of the company’s pricing strategy to recover input costs as well as market share gains, supported by its "technological differentiation".

Vesuvius said there remains significant uncertainty as to the strength of its end markets in the second half due to the ongoing geopolitical environment and potential macroeconomic weakness. "Due to this uncertainty, our expectations for trading in the second half of the year, including a material drop in volume compared to H1 and challenging cost inflation, remain broadly unchanged.

"Consequently, Vesuvius now expects its full year group trading profit (EBITA) to be towards the top end of the range of current analysts' expectations." These expectations are for between £155m and £199m.

"While the scale of the potential slow-down remains highly uncertain, we are confident that we can deliver a resilient performance and emerge stronger once end markets return to growth."