Spectris plc, a prominent supplier of precision instrumentation and controls, recently announced a 13 percent decrease in its first-quarter sales, dropping £44.9 million to £309.4 million from the previous year's £354.3 million.
When comparing the figures on a like-for-like basis (LFL), the first-quarter sales exhibited an 8 percent decrease. Two main sectors were highlighted for the decline in Spectris' first quarter. Firstly, the company's Scientific division witnessed a 6 percent drop in LFL sales largely due to the downturn in the pharma/life sciences and academia sectors. This is a stark difference from the first quarter of the previous year, during which sales rose by 26 percent.
Additionally, the Dynamics division of Spectris experienced a 10 percent decrease in LFL sales, contrasting with last year's sales increase of 21 percent. Despite these decreases, the order book rose 3 percent compared to the year's end, reaching £534.2 million by the end of the first quarter.
Spectris' management noted that the first quarter was slightly softer than expected, yet the company's outlook for the full year remains the same. The company stated, "We anticipate further progress in 2024, including a margin expansion, even after considering the impact of the Red Lion disposal. We expect this progress to be concentrated in the second half of the year, reflecting our strong performance in the first half of 2023 and an improving outlook in several key end markets."
