Judges Scientific PLC on Thursday bemoaned a ‘challenging’ first half, as market conditions and subdued trading hampered revenue.

The London-based company is focused on acquiring and developing assets in the scientific instrument sector. It consists of 25 businesses purchased since 2005.

For the first half of 2024, Judges Scientific reported pretax profit of £5.8 million, up from £3.0 million a year prior.

Basic earnings per share were 63.3 pence, up from 15.6p the year before.

Revenue, however, fell 0.8% to £60.8 million from £61.3 million. According to the firm, this was a result of ‘subdued trading’, set against ‘a backdrop of difficult market conditions and record prior year comparatives’.

Organic revenue fell 3% against the previous year, while organic order intake was down 4%.

‘As announced already, several of our group businesses have experienced a challenging first half, driven by difficult market conditions and the deferral of some projects into H2 or 2025,’ said Chair Alex Hambro.

Looking ahead, Judges Scientific expects a stronger second half, boosted by some order intake recovery in the first few months.

‘In spite of the trading disappointment, the group has again demonstrated its resilience and its financial strength. With the completion of three acquisitions since the start of the year, the further strengthening of our management team, and a 10% increase to the interim dividend, we continue to build on our model of delivering long-term shareholder value,’ added Hambro.

However, though the group did not change existing guidance for the full year, it warned of ‘continued challenging market conditions and short-term vulnerability to the timing of orders and revenue’.

The firm declared an interim dividend per share of 29.7p, up 10% from 27.0p.

Shares in Judges Scientific were trading 2.7% lower at 10,022.50 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

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