Engineer Smiths Group continues to move away from government clients to commercial customers
Engineering company Smiths Group has seen profits flatten in the year ended 31 July from the same period last year. Pre-tax profits are up just slightly from £497m To £498m (release).
Revenue growth is also weak at the company, up just two per cent to £3,109m.
The company has taken a knock from lower margins in medical detection units after the introduction of a US medical device tax.
Philip Bowman, chief executive:
We continued to invest to rebalance revenue and profit streams away from government to commercial customers, and also raise our exposure to faster growing markets. This on-going realignment allowed us to grow revenue, despite a difficult trading environment.
We remain well placed to benefit from growth in energy demand, the need for new fuel-efficient aircraft, increased US residential construction and the ever present need for improved security in an uncertain world. We will continue to focus on investing to grow sales, delivering further operational improvements, while maintaining strong cash conversion and improved returns.