Global analytics, technology and safety group Halma (LON:HLMA) posted better-than-expected FY26 results and sounded upbeat about FY27. However, given the strong performance of the shares year-to-date, the shares succumbed to a bout of profit-taking.
Record results
For the year to March 2026, revenue rose 15% to £2.58 billion, topping market forecasts. Meanwhile, adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) rose 22% to £595 million, also ahead of forecasts.
On an underlying basis excluding one-offs, revenue rose 14% and EBIT rose 20%. The increase in EBIT for FY26 marks 23 years of unbroken growth, despite repeated ructions to the global economy.
Adjusted EPS (earnings per share) increased 21% to 114p, above the consensus of 110p/share. The total dividend for FY26 rose 7% to 24.74p marking 47 consecutive years of growth of 5% or more.
‘This has been another successful year for Halma’, said CEO Marc Ronchetti. ‘We grew revenue to over £2.5bn and adjusted profit to over £500m, both for the first time, and delivered on all our financial key performance indicators.’
For FY27, the firm expects to deliver low double-digit organic revenue growth led by the photonics business. Meanwhile, the adjusted EBIT margin is expected to be similar to the record 22.7% level achieved in FY26.
Halma beat across every metric, from sales to EBIT, EBIT margin, EPS and dividends, yet the shares are down. We suspect that speaks to positioning and the fact Halma has been a big momentum play, not to the results.
The group continues to deliver premium growth, strong margins and high returns while generating masses of cash. Last year it invested £600 million of surplus funds in future growth initiatives, with a FY26 ROIC (return on invested capital) of 16.2%.
The company’s decentralised model is so successful it has become the blueprint for dozens of smaller firms. Ditto its policy of owning the number one or two player in a niche market and dominating that niche.
History shows that from time to time the shares sell off as momentum jockeys switch horses. Each time, the right strategy has been to buy more shares and tuck them away.
Read the press release here:
https://www.halma.com/investors
Disclaimer: The author owns shares in Halma
