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Castings PLC on Wednesday said it is trading in line with expectations as the company reported half-year profit growth despite a drop in revenue. The West Midlands-based iron casting and machining firm said pretax profit rose 22% to £5.0 million for the six months ended September 30, from £4.1 million. This profit increase was due to a combination of factors, including the cost of sales narrowing 3.3% to £71.8 million from £74.2 million, distribution costs falling 25% to £1.3 million from £1.7 million, as well as a small drop in administrative expenses. Revenue decreased 1.8% to £87.6 million from £89.2 million, which Castings attributed to lower levels of underlying demand for heavy trucks, which it said comprise approximately 75% of group revenue. ‘The current demand landscape remains unchanged in Europe, with US demand now exhibiting similar reductions having remained buoyant for longer,’ Castings said. The company said overall profitability in the foundry segment ‘continues to reflect the lower sales levels’, but is showing ‘some improvement’ from the actions taken to right size the cost base. Castings noted that production has commenced at its new foundry production line at the Dronfield site. Like the foundries segment, lower volumes in the machining operation ‘continue to have an impact on profitability’, according to the company, with the margin on total sales falling from 6.6% to 5.4%. Castings declared an interim dividend of 4.21 pence, unchanged from a year ago. If there is no further material reduction in demand schedules, Castings said it expects to trade in line with market expectations for the full year. Looking ahead, Castings said: ‘There continues to be opportunities for growth including new parts being quoted for our existing heavy-truck customers, the increased dimensional range of the new plant, enhanced reach in the US aided by local warehousing and agent arrangements, the expansion of the customer base at our larger casting facility and the offshore energy, agriculture and rail markets.’ Shares in Castings rose 3.4% to 242.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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