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LONDON (Alliance News) - Renishaw PLC shares were trading higher early Wednesday after the company met expectations with a big rise in pretax profit and revenue in its 2015 financial year but said its pretax profit is expected to be lower next year thanks to the large orders it secured.
The FTSE 250-listed company, which makes a range of precision measurement, 3D laser scanning and healthcare products, said its pretax profit for the year to the end of June was GBP144.2 million, up 50% on the GBP96.4 million it posted a year earlier as revenue rose to GBP494.7 million from GBP355.5 million. It said it would pay final dividend of 34 pence per share, pushing its total dividend up to 46.5 pence, up 13% year-on-year.
Renishaw had flagged that its revenue for the year would be sharply higher thanks large orders from customers in Asia in the consumer electronics market and exceptionally strong growth in its metrology business. Even stripping out these large orders, however, underlying revenue for the group was up by 11%.
A key issue going into the results was what Renishaw's outlook would be and whether it considered the revenue generated in 2015 to be at a sustainable level. While Renishaw said it is difficult to forecast revenue for 2016, it remains confident in its long-term prospects.
The company said it expects revenue for the coming year will be GBP460-485 million and said its pretax profit will be GBP85-105 million, somewhat lower than in the just-finished financial year.
Renishaw shares were up 3.2% to 2,026.75 pence on Wednesday morning, one of the best performers in the FTSE 250.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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