Shares in Diploma (LSE: DPLM) climbed 9.5% on Monday after the technical products supplier reported double-digit growth in annual profits and revenues.
The company, which was promoted to the FTSE 100 earlier this year, said pretax profit rose 20% to £155.6m as revenue increased 19% to £1.20bn. Organic revenue growth was 8%, ahead of Diploma’s 7% forecast.
Diploma attributed the strong results to 12 “quality acquisitions” which contributed 8% growth, along with continued expansion into new markets. Adjusted operating profit of £237m also exceeded analyst expectations.
The company raised its total dividend by 3.1% to 56.5p per share, slightly below the 59.8p forecast.
Looking ahead, Diploma said it expects 5% organic revenue growth in 2024, along with a 19.7% operating margin.
Chief Executive Johnny Thomson said: “We’ve had an excellent year with strong, volume-led organic growth; great margin progression; and continued double-digit [earnings per share] growth.”
Diploma shares have risen 17% year-to-date and 15% over the past year.
