Renishaw's third quarter revenue rises but profit hurt by exchange rate

14th May 2014 07:55

- Revenue rises but profit falls- Disposal of stake in Delcam strengthens balance sheet- Positive outlook with growth expectedBritish engineering company Renishaw saw third quarter revenue rise, driven by growth in the Far East, the UK, the Americas and Europe.Revenue for the three months ended March rose to £84.5m from £81.9m the previous year. Pre-tax profit, however, fell to £14.4m from £15.9m due to currency headwinds.Revenue in the group's metrology sector rose to £78.8m from £74.7m with a strong performance in additive manufacturing, encoder and measurement automation product lines. Healthcare, on the other hand, dropped to £5.7m from £7.2mIn February, the company sold its 19.4% stake in Delcam to Autodesk Development for a total consideration of £32m. Renishaw said it maintains a strong balance sheet with net cash balances of £50.8m at the end of the period, compared to £35.1m the prior year, boosted by Delcam disposal proceeds."The group faced tough financial comparators for the first half of this financial year and sterling has strengthened in recent months," the firm said. "With global investment in production systems and processes expected to expand and our continuing investment in our business sectors, we remain confident for the long-term prospects of the group."RD