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Diploma PLC said on Tuesday it delivered ‘strong growth’ for the financial year ended September 30, reaffirming confidence in its outlook for financial 2025. The London-based supplier of specialized technical products and services reported a pretax profit increase of 13% to £176.6 million from £155.6 million the year before. Revenue rose 14% to £1.36 billion from £1.20 billion. Shares in Diploma were 6.8% down at 4,228.00 pence in London on Tuesday morning. Revenue growth was driven primarily by the Controls and Life Sciences segments. Controls saw a 10% increase, with revenue reaching £652.4 million, up from £568.4 million in the previous year. Seals reported a 1% increase, while Life Sciences grew by 6%. Diploma upped its final dividend by 5.0% to 42.0 pence per share from 40.0p a year ago, bringing the total dividend to 59.3p, compared to 56.5p last year. Free cash flow rose 21% to £197.9 million from £163.8 million, supporting a 6.1% increase in diluted earnings per share to 96.1p from 90.4p in financial 2023. Diploma said it is confident in delivering strong results for the next financial, driven by favourable market dynamics and continued investments in scaling operations in Australia and Canada to sustain its momentum. Looking ahead, Diploma expects organic growth of approximately 6% for financial 2025, with acquisitions adding around 2% to reported revenue, and an operating margin of approximately 21%. Diploma‘s results reflect a year of significant investments, including £293 million spent on seven acquisitions, most notably the £243 million purchase of Peerless. The company also divested three non-core businesses after the year-end, generating £45 million in proceeds. Chief Executive Officer Johnny Thomson said: ‘Our strategy is delivering. We have driven strong organic growth through end-market expansion, geographical penetration and product extension. We have continued to accelerate this organic growth through complementary acquisitions at great returns on capital. We have delivered another strong year.’ Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights reserved.
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