Aerospace engineer Senior said on Monday that it swung to a profit in the first half as it pointed to signs of recovery in its end markets.
In the half year to 30 June, the company swung to a reported pre-tax profit of £22.3m from a loss of £136.3m in the same period a year prior, even as revenue fell 19% to £332.8m.
Senior said that notwithstanding “the clear signs of recovery” in its end markets, its performance is still impacted by the pandemic, and as such, it is not yet appropriate to pay an interim dividend.
Chief executive officer David Squires said: “Our performance in the first half of 2021 has, once again, demonstrated the resilience of Senior. While the global pandemic is not over, we are encouraged to see the clear signs of recovery in our end markets, which gives renewed confidence in our ability to create enhanced value for our investors over the medium term.
“As we said in our 9 July 2021 post-close trading update, for 2021, despite the well-publicised headwinds associated with freight and commodity costs; semiconductor supply chain challenges for our land vehicle customers; as well as the divestment of our Senior Aerospace Connecticut business, we expect overall group performance for 2021 to be slightly ahead of our previous expectations.”
Senior said the first half of the year was likely to be slightly stronger than the second due to reduced defence sales, which, based on delivery profiles, are expected to pick up again next year.
At 0915 BST, the shares were up 5% at 170.25p.
