28 September 2021
Smiths Group plc – Annual Results for year ended 31 July 2021
Stronger H2 performance; good momentum
Pioneers of progress – improving our world through smarter engineering
HIGHLIGHTS
Strengthening topline
- Underlying revenue (2)% for the full year, flat in the second half, and growth in Q4
- Good order book momentum
- Primary focus on organic growth, complemented by disciplined M&A; acquisition of Royal Metal delivering ahead of plan
Strong profit conversion and earnings growth
- Operating profit up +7% and operating profit margin +140bps; EPS +8%
- Margin improvement across all divisions, accelerating in the second half
- Restructuring programme completed; committed savings delivered ahead of schedule
Another year of excellent cash generation
- Operating cash conversion of 125%. Free cash-flow of £383m
Delivering the successful separation of Smiths Medical
- Sale to ICU Medical Inc represents enterprise value of $2.7bn on announcement, with potential upside from equity consideration and earnout
- Expected completion H1 CY2022
Positioned for accelerated growth in core industrial technology business
- Market leading industrial technology businesses with shared purpose and operating model
- Enhanced focus and execution pace to support delivery of accelerating growth
- Well positioned for long-term trends of safety, sustainability and digitisation
- Proposed final dividend of 26.0p. Full year dividend increased by +8%
- Update on strategy at capital markets event on 17-18 November 2021
| Headline1 | FY2021 | FY2020 | Reported | Underlying2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths continuing operations3 | ||||
| Revenue | £2,406m | £2,548m | (6)% | (2)% |
| Operating profit | £372m | £327m | +14% | +7% |
| Total Group4 | ||||
| Profit for the year (after tax) | £370m | £338m | +9% | +8% |
| Basic EPS | 93.1p | 84.8p | +10% | +8% |
| Free cash-flow5 | £383m | £273m | +40% |
| Statutory | FY2021 | FY2020 | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smiths continuing operations3 | |||
| Revenue | £2,406m | £2,548m | (6)% |
| Operating profit | £326m | £241m | +35% |
| Total Group4 | |||
| Profit for the year (after tax) | £285m | £267m | +7% |
| Basic EPS | 71.7p | 66.9p | +7% |
| Dividend per share | 37.7p | 35.0p | +8% |
Outlook
- Well positioned as markets recover, with good order book momentum
- Economic uncertainty and supply chain challenges continue
- Group revenue growth, expected to return to around pre-COVID levels during the year
- Further operational efficiency and good cash generation
- Increasingly confident about Smiths’ future prospects and ability to deliver excellent, sustainable value for all stakeholders
Paul Keel, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“The Group’s robust performance in FY2021 is testament to the qualities that attracted me to Smiths when I joined in May. Smiths has high quality businesses with strong fundamentals and is well positioned in markets with near-term upside and attractive long-term growth drivers.
Further improvement centres on accelerating our growth and consistently delivering results, underpinned by our focus on continuous operational excellence and investment in our people and culture.
An important milestone for the Group was announcing the sale of Smiths Medical. In doing so, we fulfilled a commitment to simplify our business and focus on our higher-performing industrial technology core, whilst delivering significant returns to our shareholders.
This is an exciting time for Smiths. We are building good momentum and are positioned for growth in our core industrial technology business. Smiths is pointed in the right direction and our focus now is squarely on acceleration - acceleration of delivery, acceleration of growth, and acceleration of value creation. We look forward to sharing more details of our plans and ambitions at our capital markets event in November.”
Statutory reporting
Statutory reporting takes account of all items excluded from headline performance.
See accounting policies for an explanation of the presentation of results and note 3 to the financial statements for an analysis of non-headline items.
Definitions
The following definitions are applied throughout the financial report:
1 Headline: In addition to statutory reporting, the Group reports on a headline basis. Definitions of headline metrics, and information about the adjustments to statutory measures, are provided in note 3 to the financial statements.
2 Underlying modifies headline performance to exclude the effects of foreign exchange, acquisitions, restructuring costs and write-downs, and include depreciation and amortisation of discontinued operations.
3 Continuing operations exclude Smiths Medical which is accounted for as ‘Discontinued operations – businesses held for sale’. Discontinued operations are defined in note 28 to the financial statements.
4 Total Group comprises continuing operations and discontinued operations.
5 Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”) are defined in note 30 to the financial statements.
Investor enquiries
Jemma Spalton, Smiths Group
+44 (0)20 7004 1600
+44 (0)7867 390350
jemma.spalton@smiths.com
Media enquiries
Alex Le May, FTI Consulting
+44 (0)20 3727 1308
+44 (0)7702 443312
smiths@fticonsulting.com
Richard Mountain, FTI Consulting
+44 (0)20 3727 1374
+44 (0)7909 684466
smiths@fticonsulting.com
Presentation
The management presentation via webcast will begin at 08.30 (UK time) today at https://smiths.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations, with a recording available from 13.00 (UK time).
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 213800MJL6IPZS3ASA11
This document contains certain statements that are forward-looking statements. They appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs and/or current expectations of Smiths Group plc (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries (together, the “Group”) and those of their respective officers, directors and employees concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, and the businesses operated by the Group. By their nature, these statements involve uncertainty since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this document and, unless otherwise required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast. The Company and its directors accept no liability to third parties. This document contains brands that are trademarks and are registered and/or otherwise protected in accordance with applicable law.
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