Spectris PLC (LON:SXS) shares rose in trading Monday as the company announced the start of a share buyback programme following a strong performance in 2017.
Shares were up 3% to 2,727p in lunchtime trading.
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The FTSE 250-listed instrument and controls supplier said that as a result of the proceeds received from its sale of Microsan Systems Inc., a share buyback totalling £100mln would take place during 2018, and would begin “as soon as possible”.
The buyback announcement was accompanied by strong growth in both profit and sales, with all four divisions of Spectris growing across 2017.
Adjusted pre-tax profit for 2017 rose 12% to £218.4mln, with sales reporting a rise of 13% to £1.53bln.
The company also said like-for-like (LFL) sales also increased over the period, with the Materials Analysis, Test & Measurement, In-Line Instrumentation, and Industrial Controls sales all up between 6% and 7%.
Spectris also announced a downgrade in their savings expectations as part of phase one of its ‘Project Uplift’ programme.
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The company said it expected £25mln of annualised savings for the first phase and a total cost to achieve this of £35mln by the end of 2019.
Spectris originally expected savings of £35mln with a total cost of £45mln.
The company said the change had come after it became evident the IT implementation aspect of the project was more complex than anticipated, requiring a change in Project Uplift’s scope.
Spectris’ chief executive, John O’Higgins, said: "Our performance in 2017 was good with like-for-like increases in both sales and profit as we executed on our strategy, and helped by a recovery in the USA and certain key end markets. In 2018, we expect to see the benefit of organic sales growth, partly offset by the investment in our strategic growth initiatives and foreign currency exchange headwinds."
He added: "We remain focused on increasing productivity and reducing complexity through Project Uplift. The magnitude and phasing of the benefits and costs from this programme have varied from those originally envisaged, primarily due to a re-scoping of the IT project.”