Judges Scientific swings to loss following "very poor performance"

Judges Scientific PLC on Wednesday said its "very poor" first-half performance reflected reduced US research funding, delays in China and continued weakness in offshore wind, as the company swung to a loss.

Judges Scientific PLC, London-based firm that buys and develops companies in the scientific instrument sector, reported a pretax loss of £1.7 million for the half year ended June 30, down from a £6.6 million profit a year earlier.

Revenue was £55.7 million, down 21% from £70.2 million, while adjusted pretax profit was £3.2 million, down 75% from £12.6 million.

Non-Executive Chair David Cicurel said: "The first half reflected the continuation of a particularly difficult trading environment across several of our key end markets, with reduced US research funding, delays in China and continued weakness in offshore wind all weighing on performance. The result, I regret, is a very poor first half performance."

In light of the first-half results, the company said it "took further cost actions and made progress in addressing previously identified operational challenges".

Judges Scientific declared an interim dividend of 36.0 pence, up 10% from 32.7 pence a year earlier.

"While market headwinds are lasting longer than we would have wished, the Group's strategy is intact and its fundamentals remain robust," Cicurel said.

Citing significantly improved order intake, which was just 1% behind the prior year-to-date in the early part of the second half, the company expects to deliver full-year earnings in line with market expectations. Its guidance for 2026 is unchanged.

Judges Scientific said market expectations for adjusted basic earnings per share are 200.5 pence in 2026 and 224.9 pence in 2027. It said first-half adjusted basic earnings per share were 39.0 pence, down 72% from 141.4 pence a year earlier.

The company also confirmed that the Geotek coring expedition, previously expected to take place in 2027, will now not happen until at least early 2028.

Separately, Chief Financial Officer Brad Ormsby confirmed his decision to step down as a director on September 23, 2027 to "take a break and consider what comes next". Ormsby, who joined the company in 2015, will remain with the company for the next 12 months to support the appointment and handover to his successor. Judges Scientific has started the process of finding a new CFO, it said.

Ormsby said it was a privilege to serve as the company's chief financial officer and that, after "more than a decade with the Group, I feel that this is the right moment to take a break and consider what comes next."

Shares in Judges Scientific fell 1.7% to 3,725.00 pence per share on Wednesday afternoon in London.

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