Spectris said on Thursday that it swung to a full-year pre-tax profit as it lifted its dividend and said it was entering 2022 with a record order book.
The group swung to a statutory pre-tax profit of £388.6m in 2021 from a loss of £4.1m the year before, while adjusted pre-tax profit rose 23% to £204.3m, even as sales dipped 3% to £1.3bn.
Spectris hailed “strong” demand for its products and services, with orders up19% on a like-for-like basis. It also said that supply chain issues were expected to start easing in the second half.
The group declared a dividend of 71.8p per share, up 5% on the previous year.
Chief executive Andrew Heath said: “Demand for our products and services has been strong, and although supply chain and Covid challenges somewhat constrained our ability to maximise sales in the fourth quarter, we entered 2022 with a record order book, and a strong start to the year.
“This gives us confidence in our ability to deliver continued good sales growth this year, noting the ongoing supply chain challenges. We are making good progress in returning the group to its previous adjusted operating margin highs of 18%, and ultimately exceeding them over the longer term.”
