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Strix Group PLC on Wednesday said in a trading update that it expects to report a fall in annual profit for 2024, following weaker trading in the second half of the year and cost price inflation. The Isle of Man-based supplier of kettle safety controls and other devices for water heating and temperature control, steam management, and water filtration said it now expects to report adjusted pretax profit between £18 million and £19 million at constant currency for 2024. This would represent between a 5.6% and 11% decline from adjusted pretax profit of £20.1 million in 2023. Strix Group said: ‘The kettle controls division experienced relatively lower trading for parts of the third quarter, and this has continued into the fourth quarter, particularly in regulated markets. It has become apparent that the improvement in sales trends experienced in the first six months of the year was due to a pipeline refill. The peak season has not shown an underlying improvement in customer demand. ‘While Strix has maintained its dominant market position with stable market share, the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment has remained challenging. This has been particularly the case in the UK, Germany and the US, being some of the group’s highest margin markets. The impact of cost price inflation has been compounded by uncertainty, leading to more cautious discretionary spending around the UK Autumn Budget.’ In the first half of the year that ended June 30, Strix said adjusted pretax profit grew 15% to £8.0 million from £6.9 million, at constant currency. However, Strix also swung to a statutory interim pretax loss of £3.8 million from a restated profit of £5.1 million the year before, primarily due to administrative expenses increasing 59% to £16.7 million from £9.1 million. Its interim revenue had fallen 1.6% to £63.9 million from a restated £64.9 million last year. The group’s 2023 results were restated to reflect its continuing operations. Strix also said on Wednesday that it intends to reinstate the 2024 final dividend, for payment in 2025. Shares in Strix Group were down 7.1% at 55.94 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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