Halma plc (LON:HLMA) shares rebounded after the company struck £54 mln of healthcare deals that analysts said screened cheaper than the group’s usual multiple.
- Halma finished the session at 4,014p, climbing 1.11%. The FTSE 100 added 0.25% to close at 10,679.03.
- Halma said Thursday it is buying two healthcare firms for around £54 million, adding about £14 million in yearly sales.
- The announced prices work out to around 3.9x revenue, less than the approximate 6.2x EV/revenue based on Halma’s numbers.
- Healthcare posted Halma’s weakest organic revenue growth in FY2026, coming in at 6.3%. That’s well behind Environmental & Analysis, which grew 35.7%.
Halma plc (LON:HLMA) shares moved up Friday, following a quiet two-day stretch after its new healthcare deals. But for investors, the numbers behind those acquisitions could be more telling than the stock’s response so far.
The stock ended the session 44p higher at 4,014p. Volume was 401,935 shares, about a third of its 65-day average 1.3 million. Shares remain 18.1% under the June 3 peak of 4,902p. The FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 10,679.03.
| Market snapshot | Latest |
|---|---|
| Halma last trade | 4,014p |
| Change on day | +44p / +1.11% |
| FTSE 100 finish | 10,679.03 / +0.2% |
| Turnover | 401,935 |
| 65-day volume average | 1,300,065 |
| Distance to 52-week top | about 18% below |
Halma said it’s acquired itemedical, a Dutch medical software group, for 23 million euros, or roughly 20 million pounds. It’s also bought Sweden’s Naslund Medical, an oncology tech company, for $45 million, about 34 million pounds. The two firms posted annual revenue of 7.8 million euros and $9.2 million, respectively.
The numbers suggest price-to-sales multiples that are lower than Halma’s current stock market rating. Halma’s market value stood at about 15.16 billion pounds, with net debt of 768.6 million pounds, and FY2026 revenue at 2.58 billion pounds. That puts the EV/revenue multiple near 6.2 times.
| Asset | Buyer inside Halma | Cash price | Annual revenue | Price/revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| itemedical | SSG | €23 mln | €7.8 mln | 3.0x |
| Naslund Medical | IZI Medical | $45 mln | $9.2 mln | 4.9x |
| Combined, using disclosed sterling estimates | Healthcare | ~£54 mln | ~£14 mln | 3.9x |
| Halma rough group EV/revenue | Group | ~£15.93 bln EV | £2.58 bln | 6.2x |
The discount is key since Halma’s shares rely on steady smaller deals, not on a big one-off. The 54 million pound spend is just 0.4% of Halma’s market cap. It’s headed into Healthcare, which was the weakest part of the group last year.
| FY2026 sector | Reported revenue | Organic revenue growth | Organic adjusted profit growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | £947.5 mln | 6.5% | 13.1% |
| Environmental & Analysis | £1.04 bln | 35.7% | 35.7% |
| Healthcare | £598.4 mln | 6.3% | 9.6% |
CEO Marc Ronchetti said the deals add “complementary capabilities in markets they know well.” itemedical gives SSG a setup that connects alarms and patient data from medical devices. Naslund brings in Gold Anchor, a marker tech used in radiation therapy, to IZI Medical’s cancer treatment lineup. Halma
The stock remains weighed by last month’s guidance reset. Halma now sees low double-digit organic constant-currency revenue growth in FY2027, with photonics set to contribute about five percentage points, down from around eight points in FY2026.
Morningstar’s Matthew Donen told Reuters on June 11 that the outlook now signals slower revenue growth for photonics and the rest of the company. Analysts at JPMorgan also said the photonics part will probably fall short of what investors expect.
Halma has room for this kind of deal. The group posted adjusted cash conversion at 93% for FY2026, ahead of its 90% goal. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA hit 1.16 times, below the 2 times ceiling. Halma raised its total dividend 7% to 24.74p.
Analysts have an “Overweight” consensus on the stock, according to FactSet numbers in the Wall Street Journal. Currently, there are 8 buys, 2 overweight calls, 4 holds, and 1 sell. The median price target sits at £46.20—roughly 15% higher than Friday’s close. The Wall Street Journal
