LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Instrumentation and controls company Spectris plc (SEPJF.PK, SXS.L) reported Thursday that its fiscal 2020 loss before tax was 4.1 million pounds, compared to last year's profit of 259.3 million pounds.
Loss per share was 14.6 pence, compared to profit of 202.2 pence per share a year ago.
Adjusted profit before tax was 166.4 million pounds, compared to 247.4 million pounds a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 112.1 pence, compared to 168.0 pence a year ago.
Sales declined 18 percent to 1.34 billion pounds from 1.63 billion pounds a year ago. LFL sales decreased 11 percent.
Further, the company said its Board is proposing to pay a final dividend of 46.5 pence per share, up from 43.2 pence last year. This gives a 5 percent increase in total dividend to 68.4 pence per share.
The company also has approved a 200 million pounds share buyback programme.
Looking ahead, Andrew Heath, Chief Executive, said, 'The stronger order intake in the last three months of 2020 provides momentum for the first quarter of 2021 although, clearly, much uncertainty remains and we expect the immediate economic backdrop to remain challenging. However, the actions taken last year position the Group well for any market recovery in 2021.'
In London, Spectris is currently trading at 3,030 pence, down 2.2 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2021 AFX News
