Spirax profits climb in first half results 2026
Summary
Cheltenham’s Spirax Group PLC , formerly Spirax-Sarco Engineering, has revealed half-year results to the end of June 2026 which showed that group revenue climbed to £863m – an innings which outperformed the firm’s own forecast of 1.5% growth.
Details
The latest books for the specialists in thermal energy and fluid technology for power generation also disclose how operating profit jumped an impressive 44% to £154.2 million – the boost being aided by the absence of heavy restructuring costs that weighed on the 2025 results.
With adjusted operating margins edging up by 50 basis points to 19.8%, a resulting 8% increase in adjusted operating profit delivered a final figure of £171.1m for the six months. The board consequently declared a 3% increase in the interim dividend to 50.4p per share – although shares took an initial 10% tumble on back of the firm’s unchanged full-year outlook.
Electrothermal Technology led the way as Spirax’s standout division, registering an 11% organic sales increase alongside a 220-basis-point margin expansion. Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology also posted strong growth at 7%, the achievement being driven by a cyclical rebound in biopharmaceutical orders.
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Weaker industrial demand and shipment delays from China meanwhile led to the Steam Thermal Solutions division growing by just 1% and the results pointed to a geographical split overall, with resilient demand in the Americas (up 9.6%) and EMEA (up 4.3%) while the Asia-Pacific region saw a 2.4% revenue contraction.
Nimesh Patel, Group CEO, said: “We have again delivered resilient mid-single-digit organic growth in revenue and profit, well ahead of IP.
Driving growth ahead of our markets, in spite of external conditions, is now becoming embedded in how we operate and demonstrates the strengths of our business model and strategic positioning in diversified and attractive end markets.” Reiterating the full-year guidance, he added that continuing momentum in end markets such as Semicon and Biopharm as well as strong orderbooks, underpinned the firm’s expectations for second half revenue and profit growth.
He added: “Our Together for Growth Strategy is strengthening the Group’s differentiated business model, competitive leadership and resilience to drive sustained compounding organic growth at high margins and improving returns on capital. We remain on track to deliver the medium-term targets we set out for the Group in October 2024; and above these targets in the longer term.”
Report source: Punchline Gloucester