#metrology #spectroscopy #ukmfg #engineering #renishaw #britishmfg #mfgnews Engineering group Renishaw saw its pre-tax profits in the third quarter decline, following a drop in revenues in the Far East. Pre-tax profit for the quarter ended 2 May fell 23% year-on-year to £16.5 million, as the company’s costs increased to support marketing, production and R&D.
Revenues were broadly flat at £81.9 million, compared to £81.6 million the previous year. The Wotton-under-Edge firm’s metrology sector recorded a 1.0% fall in revenues to £74.7 million.
Renishaw has made investments in the electronic and semiconductor markets to help improve revenue for its encoder product line during the period. The machine tool product line continued to be the biggest driver of growth in the division, while in the health-care business sector, revenues rose 24% to £7.2 million, boosted by strong demand for spectroscopy products.
Renishaw chairman and chief executive Sir David McMurtry said: “As previously reported, the group faces particularly tough comparators going into the fourth quarter, which last year saw a number of large orders in China related to the consumer electronics market. Based on recent underlying activity levels, we currently expect that revenues in the second half will be at similar levels to revenues in the first half of this fiscal year.
Given the continuing investments into our business to position the group for long-term growth, we expect the current year adjusted profit before tax — excluding the exceptional credit of £2.9 million — to be around the same level as last year.
“With global investment in production systems and processes expected to continue, we remain confident for the long-term prospects of the group.”