Spirax's interim profit hit by currency headwinds

5th Aug 2015 09:01

(ShareCast News) - Industrial engineering group Spirax-Sarco said its interim results were hit by strong currency headwinds.The FTSE 250 group said its first half pre-tax profit declined 10% year-on-year to £57.3m on the back of £8.2m in exceptional costs it booked from the start-up of a new business in India.In 2014, the manufacturer of steam management systems and peristaltic pumps booked one-off costs of £2.9m, therefore excluding both exceptional charges pre-tax profit only 3.3% to £63.3m, while revenue edged 0.2% higher to £320m.Spirax said strong currency headwinds wiped out its 3% growth in organic sales, which was driven by a strong performance in the Watson-Marlow fluid technology arm."We anticipate that our markets will remain challenging, especially in emerging economies, but continue to expect modest market improvements in Europe and North America during the second half of this year," said group chief executive Nicholas Anderson."We have a robust and resilient business model and, assuming no unexpected deterioration in our markets, the board remains confident that the group will make progress in 2015."Spirax shares were down 2.89% to 3,291.00p at 0822 BST on Wednesday.