Halma shares were down 1.9% to 1,952p in early morning trading on Thursday, despite a 16% revenue climb to a record level of £1.5 billion in FY 2022 against £1.3 billion in FY 2021.
The life-saving technology firm reported an adjusted pre-tax profit increase of 14% to £316 million compared to £278 million in the previous year, along with a statutory pre-tax profit growth of 20% to £304 million from £252 million, representing the company’s 19th consecutive year of record profit.
Halma noted its statutory pre-tax profit included its £34 million gain on its Texecom disposal.
The technology group completed 13 acquisitions in FY 2022 for a total maximum consideration of £164 million, alongside one additional acquisition since the period end for £37 million. Halma confirmed a healthy acquisition pipeline across all sectors.
Halma announced a 20.7% return on sales from a 21.1% return year-on-year, with a 14.6% return on total invested capital compared to 14.4% the year before.
The group mentioned a slight increase in net debt to £274.8 million against £256.2 million in the last year.
“This was a year of notable achievements for Halma, with revenue exceeding £1.5bn and profit £300m for the first time,” said Halma CEO Andrew Williams.
“Halma’s Sustainable Growth Model enabled our companies to act with agility to address new market opportunities and to respond rapidly to the multiple operational and economic challenges they faced during the year.”
“Our strong performance reflects huge credit on the dedication of our people across the business, and was underpinned by our empowering purpose and culture, our focus on niche markets with long-term, fundamental growth drivers and the high value of the solutions we provide to our customers.”
New CEO
Halma announced the resignation of Andrew Williams as CEO, following 18 years in the position.
Williams is set to be succeeded by CFO Marc Ronchetti, who has been appointed as chief executive designate. Ronchetti has confirmed he will remain in his role as chief executive designate and CFO until his successor has been appointed.
“I am delighted to have been selected as Halma’s next Group Chief Executive. I am excited by the opportunity to lead such a fantastic and talented team, and to continue Halma’s long track record of creating value through our Sustainable Growth Model,” said Ronchetti.
Williams will remain with the company to guide Ronchetti in the role until he takes over for the group on 1 April 2023.
“It is testament to Halma’s long-term approach to succession planning and the quality of the Halma senior leadership team that the next Group Chief Executive comes from within the business,” said Williams.
“Marc is an outstanding leader and I look forward to working with him to ensure a smooth handover.”
FY 2023 Guidance
The group added it had a strong order book going into FY 2023, with order intake in the year-to-date ahead of revenue and in line with its intake in the same term in FY 2022.
The company said it expected single-digit percentage organic constant currency revenue growth and a return on sales similar to HY2 2022.
“We have made a positive start to the new financial year. We are well positioned to make further progress in the full year and in the longer-term,” said Williams.
Dividend
Halma confirmed an adjusted EPS rise of 12% to 65.4p against 58.6p and a statutory EPS growth of 20% to 64.5p compared to 53.6p.
The company reported a dividend per share uptick of 7% to 18.8p compared to 17.6p for the financial year.
