REG - Judges ScientificPLC - Half Year Trading Update and Notice of Results

Judges ScientificAnnouncement

25/07/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7258X  Judges Scientific PLC  25 July 2024

Judges Scientific Plc

("Judges Scientific", "the Company" or "the Group")

Half Year Trading Update and Notice of Interim Results

Judges Scientific (AIM: JDG), the group focused on acquiring and developing
companies in the scientific instrument sector, provides the following update
regarding the Group's trading performance for the six-month period ended 30
June 2024.

Trading in the first half of the financial year, as indicated in the AGM
update,  has been subdued against a backdrop of difficult market conditions
and versus record prior year comparatives. The challenging environment has
caused mixed trading across our Group.

We have continued to execute our strategy, completing two small acquisitions
during the half: PE Fiberoptics acquired Luciol Instruments SA and Geotek
acquired Rockwash Geodata Limited.

References to "Organic" information in this update exclude any contribution
from Henniker Scientific Limited, Bossa Nova Vision LLC and the two more
recent acquisitions. Geotek is now included in the Organic results.

Order intake

Across the Group, Organic order intake was down 4% when compared against the
strong H1 2023, which was up 14% against H1 2022.

The challenging and variable environment can be seen in Organic orders, with
great contrasts between our major trading regions, the most notable variations
being China/Hong Kong, down 65%, and North America also down 9%, contrasted
by a 34% increase in the Rest of the World and 2% improvement in Europe.

Order book

The Organic order book was maintained at 17.2 weeks from its year end position
(31 December 2023: 17.0 weeks; 30 June 2023: 22.4 weeks).

Revenue

Organic revenue in the first half was down 3% compared with H1 2023, with the
region most affected being China/Hong Kong where revenues reduced by 9%. The
3% drop in Organic revenue illustrated the effect of generally subdued order
intake, a few instances of a sharp reduction in demand and a small number of
significant projects being delayed to H2 or 2025.

Geotek's performance was lower than H1 2023, which had included some residual
income from its 2022 coring expedition. The extension of existing and entry
into new digitalisation contracts occurred  too late to impact the H1 results
meaningfully.

First Half Performance

The decrease in Organic revenues in the first half is expected to result in
earnings per share declining by a fifth for the period. Our cash conversion
rate remained below the levels traditional for Judges and must remain a key
area of focus.

Outlook

The Board expects the second half to show progress with the realisation of
some delayed projects and Geotek will benefit from the increased activity of
its digitalisation business. As highlighted at the time of our AGM update in
May, the next Geotek contract is in negotiation, and specifies an expedition
starting at the very end of 2024, implying no recognisable revenue in the
current financial year.

Despite the expectation of an improved second half, the Board no longer
expects the Group's performance to recover sufficiently to enable us to
deliver a year-end performance in line with current market expectations*.  As
a result, the Board now anticipates earnings per share to be between 5 and 10%
below the consensus*.

The Group still maintains a healthy order book, and a solid financial
position, which gives the Board confidence that the subdued performance of the
first half doesn't hamper the Group's continuing strategy.

* Current consensus market expectations for the year ended 31 December 2024
are Adjusted basic earnings per share of 384.6p.

Notice of Results

The Company intends to announce its interim results for the six months to 30
June 2024 on Thursday 19 September 2024.

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

For further information please contact:

 Judges Scientific plc                                        Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)

 David Cicurel, CEO                                           Stephane Auton

 Brad Ormsby, CFO                                             Harry Davies-Ball

 Tel: +44 (0) 20 3829 6970                                    Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090

 Liberum (Joint Broker)                                       Investec Bank plc (Joint Broker)

 Edward Mansfield                                             Virginia Bull

 Nikhil Varghese                                              Carlton Nelson

 Tel : +44 (0) 20 3100 2222                                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7597 4000

 Alma (Financial Public Relations)

 Sam Modlin

 Rebecca Sanders-Hewett

 Joe Pederzolli

 Tel: +44 (0) 20 3405 0205

 judges@almastrategic.com (mailto:judges@almastrategic.com)

 

 

Notes to editors:

Judges Scientific plc (AIM: JDG), is a group focused on acquiring and
developing companies in the scientific instrument sector.  The Group now
consists of 24 businesses acquired since 2005.

The acquired companies are primarily UK-based with products sold worldwide to
a diverse range of markets including: higher education institutions,
scientific research facilities, manufacturers and regulatory authorities.
The UK is a recognised centre of excellence for scientific instruments.
The Group has received five Queen's Awards for innovation and export.

The Group's companies predominantly operate in global niche markets, with long
term growth fundamentals and resilient margins.

Judges Scientific maintains a policy of selectively acquiring businesses that
generate sustainable profits and cash.  Shareholder returns are created
through the reduction of debt, organic growth and dividends.

For further information, please visit www.judges.uk.com
(http://www.judges.uk.com/)

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