Engineering firm Renishaw reports record results

Engineering giant Renishaw has reported record results as revenue rocketed to more than £670m.

The FTSE 250 firm, which is based at Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, said the almost 20% rise from £565m in its previous financial year was driven by unprecedented levels of demand for its manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments and medical devices.

Bosses said high demand for encoders among its global client base came amid increased investments in the semiconductor and electronics sectors, and demand for industrial automation due to skills shortages and labour costs.

The firm posted record pre-tax profit of £163.7m for the 12 months to June - up almost 40% on the near £120m it raked in for the previous year, which it had hailed as a “positive year of recovery” following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sales and profit were in line with a reduced forecast made by Renishaw's board in May, after it pulled its operations in Russia and amid uncertainty caused by Covid lockdowns in China.

Executive chairman Sir David McMurtry said: “Our performance has been built on years of strategic focus. We’ve developed the innovative products required to meet the challenges faced by manufacturers in growing markets, while ensuring that we have the global infrastructure and skilled people to deliver those opportunities.”

Mr McMurty hailed Renishaw staff for their “commitment” to the business after he and fellow founder and majority shareholder John Deer ended plans to sell the business after the board failed to find the right buyer.

Mr McMurty said: “I do not doubt that the process caused some uncertainty among our employees, and we are very grateful for the commitment they’ve demonstrated to Renishaw.

“As a board, we were encouraged with how well everyone delivered ‘business as usual’ during the process, and I feel this excellent set of results demonstrates this, as well as underlining the strength of our business.”

Chief executive Will Lee said the company had mitigated the “great stress” on global supply chains and a “serious shortages” of electronic components.

Mr Lee said: “Our teams responded brilliantly, increasing output and re-engineering certain products when components weren’t available. Our work over the past few years to build our inventory levels also helped us overcome these problems.”

Renishaw hailed its strategic process over the year, which saw it launch new products, gain “key” customer accounts, and commit around £65m to a major expansion of its manufacturing operations in Miskin, near Cardiff, South Wales.