Halma shares soared on Thursday after the group, focused on life-saving technology, announced record-breaking full-year results for 2024.
Revenues surpassed £2 billion for the first time, up 10% overall and 8% on an organic constant currency basis. Adjusted EBIT also hit a new high above £400 million, increasing 12% and 7% on an organic constant currency basis.
Halma shares were over 5% higher at the time of writing.
“2024 was another successful year for Halma. We delivered record revenue and profit, with continued high returns. Strong cash generation enabled us to make substantial investments in opportunities for future growth, while maintaining a strong balance sheet,” said Marc Ronchetti, Group Chief Executive.
For the 21st consecutive year, Halma delivered record adjusted profit before taxation, up 10% overall and 8% organically. Statutory profit before taxation jumped 17%. Recent acquisitions contributed 5% to revenue growth and 7.6% to adjusted EBIT growth.
The jump in shares on Thursday will be partially driven by the expansion of margins, potentially signalling an end of margin eroding cost inflation.
Margins expanded 40 basis points to 20.8% as Halma maintained high returns with a stable 19.5% return on sales despite higher net finance expense.
“Halma’s attraction is simple,” said Matt Britzman, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“It’s a mash-up of businesses working to provide technology solutions in the safety, health, and environmental markets. These may not be the most exciting businesses, but Halma’s clear purpose and quality of execution mean performance is impressive. Revenue passed the £2bn mark for the first time in Halma’s history, and improving margins meant profits had an even bigger uplift, coming in ahead of expectations too.”