Renishaw PLC on Tuesday said half-year profit dropped by a quarter due to falling revenue and rising costs, although it expects market conditions to improve in the second half of its financial year.

The Gloucestershire, England-based provider of manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments and medical devices said pretax profit fell 27% to £56.5 million in the six months that ended December 31 from £77.8 million a year before.

Revenue declined 4.9% to £330.5 million from £347.7 million a year earlier.

Renishaw pointed to revenue from manufacturing technologies falling by 6%, as ‘solid ’growth in Industrial Metrology was offset by ‘continued weak demand’ for position encoders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

At the same time, cost of sales rose 2.0% to £175.9 million from £172.4 million, distribution costs rose 3.1% to £68.9 million from £66.8 million, and administrative expenses rose 9.0% to £38.5 million from £35.3 million.

Despite the worsened results, Renishaw left its dividend unchanged at 16.8 pence per share.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer William Lee said: ‘We expect an improvement in our trading performance in the second half of the financial year as market conditions improve, and as we continue to pursue a range of growth opportunities. To support our through-cycle growth strategy, we are continuing to focus on productivity and to make targeted investments in our people, our production facilities, and our new product pipeline.’

Shares in Renishaw were up 10% to 3,794.00p in London early Tuesday.

Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.