Spirax Group has maintained its full-year guidance after reporting higher first-half revenue and profit, with demand from semiconductor and biopharmaceutical customers supporting growth ahead of wider industrial production.
Revenue increased 5% to £863.8m in the six months to June, while adjusted operating profit rose 8% to £171.1m. The adjusted operating margin increased to 19.8% from 19.3% on a reported basis.
Statutory operating profit rose 44% to £154.2m and profit before tax increased 54% to £135.4m, partly reflecting restructuring costs included in the comparative period. The interim dividend increased 3% to 50.4p per share.
Group chief executive Nimesh Patel said: “We have again delivered resilient mid-single-digit organic growth in revenue and profit, well ahead of IP.”
Performance varied across the company’s operating businesses. Steam Thermal Solutions recorded 1% organic sales growth, Electric Thermal Solutions grew 11%, and Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions increased 7%.
Spirax said continuing demand in semiconductor and biopharmaceutical markets, together with strong order books, supported its expectations for the second half.
Those sectors are important because they require highly controlled industrial processes. Semiconductor fabrication and pharmaceutical manufacturing depend on precise management of heat, fluids, pressure, purity, and process conditions, creating specialist markets where reliability and technical performance can outweigh broader industrial weakness.
The group’s diversified portfolio gives it exposure to both mature manufacturing activity and newer areas of investment. Steam systems remain embedded across conventional industrial processes, while electric thermal equipment is increasingly relevant to electrification and advanced manufacturing.
Watson-Marlow’s pumps and fluid-path products provide further exposure to life sciences, biotechnology, and other process industries. The resulting mix allows growth in specialist markets to offset more subdued demand elsewhere.
That has become important as global manufacturing remains uneven. Companies continue to manage weak demand in some sectors, trade uncertainty, changing energy costs, currency movements, and highly different investment cycles between regions.
Spirax has been pursuing its Together for Growth strategy to increase organic growth and improve returns. The programme combines investment in commercial capability and product development with operational efficiencies and a stronger focus on markets where demand is expanding faster than general industrial production.
Margins at Electric Thermal Solutions and Watson-Marlow improved strongly in the first half, helped by operating leverage, product mix, and efficiency measures. Steam Thermal Solutions experienced weaker margin performance because of shipment timing and investment, although Spirax expects the full-year divisional margin to be broadly in line with 2025.
Cash conversion declined to 54% from 61%, reflecting first-half seasonality and planned inventory builds. Inventory becomes an important discipline for industrial groups when demand is uneven because excess stock can absorb cash even if profit remains resilient.
Net debt reduced to £618.2m from £658m, while leverage fell to 1.6 times EBITDA from 1.8 times. That leaves the group with capacity to continue investing while maintaining its dividend policy.
Spirax continues to expect mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for 2026 and further organic margin progress. Delivering that outlook will depend partly on converting current order books into sales during the second half.
The first-half figures suggest that advanced manufacturing, semiconductor investment, biopharma, and electrification can support specialist engineering demand even when the broader industrial cycle remains subdued. Sustaining growth ahead of general industrial production would strengthen the case that Spirax’s end-market mix is becoming less dependent on any single manufacturing cycle.
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