- Vesuvius
- 12 March 2026 09:39:13
Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 250 molten metal flow engineering specialist posted revenue of £1.81bn for the year ended 31 December, down 0.6% from £1.82bn a year earlier but up 0.7% on a like-for-like basis.
Adjusted operating profit fell 19.6% to £151.1m from £188m, while return on sales declined to 8.4% from 10.3%.
Adjusted basic earnings per share dropped 21% to 34.2p from 43.3p, and free cash flow decreased 37.7% to £36m.
Statutory operating profit fell 25.4% to £114.6m and profit before tax dropped 29.9% to £97.2m, with statutory basic earnings per share declining to 21.1p from 33.5p.
Cash inflow from operations fell 20% to £173.4m, while net debt-to-EBITDA increased to 2.0 times from 1.3 times a year earlier.
The company said the downturn reflected difficult market conditions, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which accounted for about 80% of the decline in trading profit.
Global steel production fell 1.9% during the year, although it rose 1.3% when excluding China, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.
Vesuvius said pricing turned positive again in the second half, led by its Flow Control business, though gains were insufficient to offset weaker pricing earlier in the year.
In the Foundry division, markets outside India and China remained weak, though declines were partly mitigated by market share gains.
Net pricing remained slightly negative in the second half but improved significantly compared with the first half, while temporary production inefficiencies arose from site rationalisation programmes.
The group said an accelerated cost reduction programme generated £17.8m in savings during the year, while the ratio of new product sales rose to 20.5%, reaching its 2026 target a year ahead of schedule.
Integration of recently acquired businesses MMS and PiroMET is progressing, strengthening the company’s presence in the Turkish steel market and in non-ferrous foundry operations.
Vesuvius proposed a final dividend of 16.5p per share, bringing the full-year payout to 23.6p, up slightly from 23.5p in 2024.
“2025 has been a challenging year for Vesuvius, specifically in EMEA where both our Steel and Foundry end-markets contracted and where we experienced significant price pressure,” said chief executive Patrick André.
“We were, however, able to re-establish a globally positive net pricing in the second half of the year and were also able to offset part of the negative market impact with significant and above-expectation progress on our cost reduction programme and with market share gains.”
Looking ahead, André said the company expected a gradual recovery in demand.
“Whilst we are mindful of the current geopolitical uncertainty, absent an extended disruption, we continue to expect to deliver profit growth in 2026 in line with expectations, on a constant currency basis.”
He added that improved trading performance, contributions from recent acquisitions and normalised capital expenditure should support stronger cash generation next year, while the company continues to target a return on sales of 12.5% over the longer term.
At 0913 GMT, shares in Vesuvius were up 1.14% at 441.8p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.