|
Volex PLC on Wednesday announced a new leadership team as it unveiled strong profit and sales growth at the half-year stage and expressed confidence in hitting mid-term targets. The Hampshire, England-based maker of power and data transmission products named Dave Webster as non-executive chair with immediate effect, with Executive Chair Nat Rothschild becoming chief executive. Volex said Webster, who was CEO at CPM Holdings Inc, brings ‘significant experience’ to the board from leading and growing advanced global manufacturing businesses across the public and private sectors, covering multiple sectors. Rothschild said: ‘This evolution in our leadership structure underlines our key priorities today - to extend and deepen our customer relationships across our growing business and to focus on the delivery of our strategy. ’ The news came as Volex said pretax profit soared 43% to $37.9 million in the half year to September from $26.5 million the year prior. Basic earnings per share increased 47% to 15.3 US cents from 10.4c, or by 30% to 19.7c from 15.2c on an underlying basis. Revenue rose 13% to $583.9 million from $518.2 million with strong organic growth of 13%, including a notable increase of 80% in Data Centres sales. Shares in Volex were up 12% at 416.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Electric Vehicles delivered strong organic growth of 13%, while in Consumer Electricals, organic revenue declined by 6.3% reflecting a strong comparative period. Medical saw organic revenue decline by 9.9%, as anticipated, driven by reduced global spending on healthcare and research, but Complex Industrial Technology saw organic growth of 48%, supported by continued momentum in Data Centre products and a positive contribution from other Industrial customers. Off-Highway organic revenue jumped 20% benefiting from a one-off customer project delivered in the first half. ‘Despite a backdrop of tariff-related uncertainty, we delivered sustained profitable growth and have enhanced our position as an essential partner to global blue chip customers, providing mission-critical interconnects that are vital to the uptime and safety of technologically advanced equipment,’ said CEO Rothschild. Underlying operating margin of 9.8% maintained, towards the upper end of the 9% to 10% target range, supported by operational efficiencies and productivity improvements. Volex said trading in the second half-to-date is ‘solid’ with revenue for the half expected to be broadly consistent with the first half. The firm reaffirmed its confidence in delivering on full-year market expectations and to achieve the targets set out in its five-year plan. The dividend was boosted 6.7% to 1.6 pence per share from 1.5p. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
