Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) PLC has said the strong performance achieved in the first three months of its current financial year continued into the second quarter, which means the engineering group now predicts a better-than-expected performance for the first half to 31 January 2023.
Organic revenue growth for the first six months is forecast to be in the low double-digits, driven by a combination of volume growth and price increases to offset cost inflation.
As a result, Smiths has revised up its guidance for the 2023 financial year and now expects organic revenue growth of at least 7%, with moderate margin improvement.
"Our strategy of focusing on accelerating growth, improving execution and investing in our people continues to deliver increased value for all stakeholders,” said Smiths Group chief executive Paul Keel in the trading update.
The company said it has returned £647mln of the £742mln share buyback programme announced in November 2021 and expects to complete the programme by the end of full-year 2023.