UK's Castings H1 profit falls on power outage

Overview

• UK iron castings maker's H1 revenue declined 1.9% yr/yr

• Profit before tax for H1 fell sharply due to power outage and higher costs

• Company expects full-year results to meet revised market expectations

Outlook

• Company expects full-year result to be in line with revised market expectations, which is compiled by the company

• Revised market expectations are for FY27 adjusted profit before tax of £9.0 mln

• Company says demand schedules for rest of year reflect strong heavy-truck market conditions

Result Drivers

• POWER OUTAGE IMPACT - Co said a two-month power outage at William Lee site limited production, raised labour and transport costs, and reduced profitability

• NEW FOUNDRY CAPACITY - Co said new plant's expanded capabilities enabled it to pursue new business opportunities, including wind energy and truck electrification

• DUCTILE CASTINGS PERFORMANCE - Ductile Castings unit remained profitable with a growing customer base and stable efficiencies

Company press release:

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The one available analyst rating on the shares is "buy"

• The average consensus recommendation for the iron & steel peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Castings PLC is GBp419.00, about 56.9% above its November 10 closing price of GBp267.00

• The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 13 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)