Upbeat Porvair on track for the year
BRITISH filtration specialist Porvair said it expected full-year operating performance to be ahead of expectations, after a strong performance from its metals filtration and microfiltration divisions.
Porvair, which makes filtration and separation equipment for aviation, energy and environmental technology businesses, said it continued to trade well in the final quarter, with revenue for the nine months to 31 August, up seven per cent from last year.
The company also said pre-tax profit was ahead of last year and it reduced its net debt by £3m.
Two analysts on average were expecting the company to post a full-year pre-tax profit of £3.8m on revenue of £65.4m.
At the end of June Porvair raised its full-year forecast after posting a 27 per cent rise in profits, saying that its order book had steadily increased over the first half of the year and the outlook for the second half was promising.
Investors reacted well to the update, rising more than eight per cent in morning trading before closing 6.6 per cent up at 88.5p.
“The group strategy is delivering, there is greater downside protection than before and net debt is reducing even faster than expected,” Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Shepherd-Barron said.
“Our outlook reflects Porvair increasingly delivering on its strategy of growing revenue in its highly profitable microfiltration business whilst extracting higher margins in its steadier state metals filtration business.”