Rotork PLC (LON:ROR) sales fell more than expected last year but the industrial instrument maker churned out higher profits and cash than forecast.
Order intake for the year inched up 0.7% to £691.9mln but revenues shrank 4.4% to £669.3mln, hit by the effects of trade wars and internal initiatives to rationalise large project activity, products and the business portfolio.
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The FTSE 250-listed maker of controls, actuators, valves and other precision instruments lifted operating profits 2.2% to £151mln.
Profits margins were improved ahead of management expectations, which was said to benefit from the ‘growth acceleration programme’ savings and sales mix.
A £25mln working capital inflow led to net cash ending the year at £106mln.
Analysts had been expecting revenue of £683mln, operating profit of £149mln and net cash of £86mln.
“The year was about margin improvement, cash generation and laying the foundations for sales acceleration,” said chief executive Kevin Hostetler, pointing to progress with “sales force re-alignment… lean initiatives, purpose-and-values launches”.
He said excluding any impact from coronavirus, for which “it is too early to assess fully the potential impacts”, Rotork is planning for “modest sales growth” and “margin progress” in 2020.