Chip makers and defence contractors power profit upgrade for London tech stock Renishaw
London-listed engineer Renishaw upped its profit guidance on Monday, sending its shares to the top of the FTSE 250, helped by demand from defence contractors and chipmakers.
The Gloucestershire-based precision tech firm is known for its precision equipment used in the lithography process of making microprocessors.
On Monday, it pointed to “a substantial expansion” of its order book, sending its stock up over 7 per cent to 4,460p and the highest level since February
It said it now expected revenue of between £775m and £805m, up from a forecast of up to £780m issued in February alongside its half-year financial report.
Profit is now expected in the range of £145m to £165m, up from £132m to £157m previously. It was the second profit outlook upgrade from the £3bn firm in three months.
Defence, AI, aerospace drive demand
Customers in aerospace and defence and semiconductor and electronics manufacturing are driving the trend.
It has a major presence in the metrology and healthcare sectors. With a market value of around £3bn, it is also a leader in 3D printing, designing machines that create parts from metal powder. It operates from 66 locations in 36 countries.
Renishaw’s tech is used to drive the extreme levels of precision needed to make chips, with accuracy down to the level of nanometres. It is also involved in the calibration required for the equipment used to produce semiconductors.
Wider demand for has grown in line with the move toward industrial automation and artificial intelligence.
Renishaw flags supply chain risk
Analysis from City broker Peel Hunt pointed called Renishaw’s update “represents a step-up in momentum through the second half of the current year”, and pointed out that in the wider industry “key datapoints have been trending more positive in recent months”, including equipment spending forecasts alongside guidance from major player such as Dutch lithography kit maker ASML.
Nonetheless, Renishaw company can be highly sensitive to any global supply chain problems. The outlook at the 50-year old multinational is blended from rising demand for microprocessors with a range of applications, including those relating to AI, and potential disruption to trade from tariffs and geopolitical conflict.
Renishaw also said today it was “actively managing the challenges and increasing costs imposed by ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain pressures.”
It has been caught in the global trade tariff turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump.
Renishaw’s shares were trading at 3,610p at the start of January 2025, the month that Trump’s second term began, before falling to 2,100p by April and then heading back up toward Monday’s multi-month highs, via a dip around the start of the war in the Middle East.