Spirax Group plc (LON:SPX) has announced its trading update in respect of the four months ended 31 October 2026
Organic growth and margin ahead of first half; confident in delivery of full year guidance
Trading
Executing our Together for Growth Strategy has continued to drive strong growth. Group organic sales growth and adjusted operating profit margin for the ten months ended 31 October were in line with expectations and ahead of the first half.
STS1 organic sales growth in the four months to October was higher than the first half, as expected. Growth was supported by shipments from the larger orderbook at the end of June and continuing order momentum. China sales (approximately 15% of STS sales in 2025) are on track to be in line with 2025 for the full year, with continuing growth in MRO and stabilising large project sales. Consistent with our guidance, second half margin will be ahead of the first half, underpinning a full year margin broadly in line with 2025.
In ETS1, the strong organic sales growth of the first half continued in the four months to October. We are continuing to drive strong order intake in Process Heating and Heat Trace across all sectors. Growth in Equipment Heating is benefitting from higher Semicon2 demand. Excluding sales to Semicon customers (approximately 13% of ETS sales in 2025), ETS organic sales growth remains above our mid-single-digit medium-term target. Operational gearing and the ongoing delivery of manufacturing efficiencies will support a higher second half margin for ETS, compared to the first half.
In WMFTS1, organic sales growth in Biopharm was higher in the four months to October, compared to the first half, with orders remaining ahead of sales. We continue to see strong growth in end-user and consumables sales, while expansion-related sales are improving as expected. We also saw continuing strong organic sales growth in Process Industries, supported by market share gains. Higher second half organic sales growth in WMFTS will drive a second half margin slightly ahead of the first half.
Financial position
Net borrowings (excluding leases) at 31 October were £541.6 million (30 June: £618.2 million), with the Group net debt to EBITDA ratio at 1.3x (30 June: 1.6x).
Outlook
Sales and margin momentum reinforce our confidence in delivering full year guidance. We continue to expect mid-single-digit organic growth in Group revenues and a Group adjusted operating profit margin higher than the 2025 margin of 20.0%. We expect cash conversion of around 90% for the full year.
1 ‘STS’: Steam Thermal Solutions; ‘ETS’: Electric Thermal Solutions; ‘WMFTS’: Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions
2 ‘Semicon’: Semicon wafer fabrication equipment manufacturers; ‘Biopharm’: Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology sector
| Further information: | |
| Louisa Burdett, Chief Financial Officer | +44 (0) 1242 240281 |
| Mal Patel, Head of Investor Relations | +44 (0) 1242 240281 |
| Media: | |
| Martin Robinson, Teneo | +44 (0) 20 7260 2700 |
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