The Smiths Group Board is declaring an interim dividend of 12.9p, a year-on-year increase of +5% (HY2022: 12.3p). The interim dividend will be paid on 17 May 2023 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 11 April 2023
Other financial highlights include:
Record growth - organic revenue +13.5%, reported revenue +25.6%, EPS + 52.1%
o Seventh consecutive quarter of growth, equally balanced between volume and price
o Growth across all divisions, geographic regions, and major customer end markets
o 200bps of growth from new product launches with a +13.5% increase in R&D to support future as well as current growth
Improving execution - Smiths Excellence System ("SES") delivering clear benefits
o Headline operating profit growth of +27.4% with margin up +20bps to 16.1%
o +£5m operating profit contribution from SES, scaling to +£12m for FY. Expanding programme with additional resources
o ROCE +120bps to 15.2%, driven by strong profit generation
o Operating cash conversion of 63% reflecting continued investment to secure supply and support sustainable growth
Inspiring & empowering People - advancing their inclusive and high-performing culture
o Further progress embedding Smiths Leadership Behaviours
o Increased investment in talent development with relaunch of their Accelerate leadership training programme
o Actively investing in numerous diversity, equity & inclusion and employee engagement initiatives
o Published inaugural Sustainability Report; introduced ESG targets into incentive compensation plans; on track to deliver FY2023 ESG targets
Strong balance sheet - a foundation for sustainable growth and shareholder returns
o Net debt to EBITDA of 0.8x
o Share buyback c.90% complete
