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Meggitt slides into the red after difficult second quarter

Published: 09:00 08 Sep 2020 BST

Meggitt PLC -

Meggitt PLC (LON:MGGT) said performance in the first half of 2020 was a little better than management had feared.

The engineering company specialising in high-performance components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets, said it had a tough second-quarter, owing to the spread of the coronavirus and the impact it had on its end markets but the performance was not as bad as management had feared at the time of its trading update on July 2.

The value of orders in the first half slumped 26% to £882mln from £1.19bn in the first half of 2020, while revenue declined 14% to £917mln from £1.07bn.

Underlying earnings (EBITDA) fell to £156mln from £212mln the year before.

Adjusted profit before tax tumbled 41% to £86mln from £145mln while reported profit before tax was negative at £368mln, versus a £73mln profit in the first half of the previous year.

The company has not declared an interim dividend.

"We are still working through a difficult and uncertain COVID-19 environment, and while it's too early to precisely predict the trajectory of the return to prior levels of activity in civil aerospace, we continue to focus on ensuring that the business is well-positioned to benefit from the recovery,” said Tony Wood, the chief executive of Meggitt.

“Based on the effective actions we've taken to strengthen liquidity and the resilience of the group, underpinned by our diverse end market exposure and strong market positions, we believe we are well placed to benefit from the recovery and to continue the transformation of Meggitt to deliver long-term, profitable growth," he added.

Shares were down 0.2% at 299p in the first hour of trading.

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