By Anthony O. Goriainoff
Smiths Group, the U.K. engineering group, revealed that its Interconnect electronics unit experienced declines in both organic revenue and orders during its fiscal first quarter. This was primarily due to challenging market conditions. However, the overall group saw an increase in organic revenue.
For the three-month period ending on October 31, Smiths Group reported a 3.5% rise in organic revenue, meeting the board’s expectations. Despite this positive result, the company highlighted the worsening performance of its Interconnect electronics unit.
On a more encouraging note, Smiths Group’s John Crane division delivered double-digit organic revenue growth, supported by strong order growth. This bodes well for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Likewise, the Smiths Detection unit experienced high single-digit organic revenue growth, benefiting from a record order book. The company expressed confidence in achieving its full-year growth target, as it is backed by these positive outlooks and a robust new product pipeline.
Smiths Group reaffirmed its guidance for fiscal 2024, expecting organic revenue growth between 4% and 6%. With solid order books in John Crane and Smiths Detection, as well as a promising new product pipeline, the company remains optimistic about meeting its medium-term targets.