Well worth a ride up and down on this one I reckon.

Presently long.

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Broker Recos to follow.

DYOR.

Peel Hunt today reaffirms its add investment rating on Rotork PLC (LON:ROR) and raised its price target to 285p (from 230p).

StockMarketWire.com
Rotork's FY pretax profit has slipped to £91.1m, from £101.9m, as its revenue for the period and dividend improved alongside a stabilising trading environment in H2.

Revenue was £590.1m, from £546.5m. FY dividend was 5.1p a share, from 5.05p.

CEO Peter France said that in H2 2016 the trading environment saw some stabilisation and the company benefited from a strengthening currency tailwind.

"The acquisitions completed in 2015 and 2016, along with the introduction of a number of new products, also supported our growth," he added.

"We anticipate that any near-term growth in energy markets will remain modest. Our focus will remain on providing our customers with innovative, high quality products and services, reducing their cost of ownership and improving plant efficiency."

Rotork's cost management would remain a priority in the current year as it looked to mitigate any inflationary pressures through its highly flexible operating base, said France in a statement.

"We continue to target growth through organic development and acquisition that will enhance our broad product portfolio, diverse end market exposure and wide geographic presence."

France said that whilst mindful of continued macroeconomic uncertainties, at this stage of the year directors believed Rotork was well placed to make progress in 2017.

StockMarketWire.com
Rotork, an actuator manufacturer and flow control company, grew its order intake by 11.8%, or 7.9% on an organic constant currency (OCC) basis, in the third quarter.

Revenue increased by 5.1% (+0.9% OCC), reflecting a continuation of the slightly more favourable market trends seen during the first half of the year.

Year-to-date (to 29 October 2017) order intake was up 15.3% (+6.2% OCC) with an 8.9% increase in revenue (+0.8% OCC).

The order book at 29 October 2017 was £219.4m, 21.4% (23.2% OCC) higher than at 31 December 2016.

Rotork said the results for the third quarter reflect a continued improvement in levels of activity in upstream, with a slight increase in downstream over the comparative period in the prior year.

Midstream remained challenging. There was good progress across the water, power and industrial process markets. Geographically there was growth in the Middle East, parts of Asia, North America and Europe while Latin America remained subdued.

The company said it is committed, over time, to returning Rotork to the higher levels of organic growth and margins previously delivered by the group.

This will require a significant increase in investment in new products and service, funded primarily by a reshaping of sales and operating infrastructure.

It is engaged in a series of reviews to examine our routes to market, innovation funnel, operations footprint, supply chain, talent development and IT systems. The one-off costs associated with these reviews, together with any restructuring costs arising from early implementation, are anticipated to be mid-single digit millions for 2017.

The group had net debt of £39.0m at 29 October 2017 (£55.0m at 31 December 2016).

"Based on our performance to date, anticipated shipments in the remaining two months of the year, and a slightly reduced tailwind from currency, results for the full year remain in line with management expectations," it said.

StockMarketWire.com
Rotork, which manufacturers industrial flow-control equipment, said its adjusted annual profit rose, as a 'modest' recovery in trading conditions picked up momentum in the second half of the year.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 5.8% to £124.8m, as revenue grew by 8.8% to £642.2m.

Statutory pre-tax profit, which included acquisition and restructuring costs, fell 11.5% to £80.6m.

The company declared a full-year dividend of 5.40p, up 5.9% on 2016.

'During the year, we saw a return to more favourable market conditions,' executive chairman Martin Lamb said.

'We saw modest recovery in certain markets and geographies in the first half of the year with a continued improvement during the second half.'

Lamb said the company expected to grow revenue in the mid-to-high single digits in 2018, though its reported results would be impacted by a 4-5% currency headwind on both revenue and profits.

'Adjusted operating profit margins are expected to be similar, with contributions from higher volumes offset by increased investments in new products, expansion of our service infrastructure, and accelerated investment in our systems and IT capabilities,' Lamb added.

One-off costs associated with an ongoing strategic reviews were likely to be at similar levels in the first half of 2018 to the second half of 2017.

Citigroup today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Rotork PLC (LON:ROR) and set its price target at 315p