London, March 12, 2026, 15:15 GMT
Halma shares were little changed on Thursday after the FTSE 100 life-saving technology group said second-half trading remained strong enough to keep its full-year outlook intact. By 15:11 GMT, the stock was up 0.05% at 3,910 pence after touching 3,956p earlier in the session.
With Halma’s financial year ending on March 31, the statement is the last scheduled readout before year-end. The company said it still expects mid-teens organic constant-currency revenue growth — sales growth excluding acquisitions and exchange-rate swings — and an adjusted operating margin of around 22%, after raising guidance in November on strong photonics demand tied to U.S. data-centre construction. Full-year results are due on June 11.
Order intake remains ahead of both revenue and the comparable period last year, Halma said. It has also spent a record £451 million on five acquisitions so far this year, including E2S, Safetec and Altomed, and said the pipeline for further deals stays healthy across its three sectors.
That muted move suggests plenty of optimism was already in the price. Halma still sits below its 12-month high of 4,202p, but the shares are up about 51% over the past year and outperformed a FTSE 100 that was down 0.88% in afternoon trade. 1
The company is also up against a tougher base. In November, Chief Executive Marc Ronchetti said first-half strength and the outlook “support a further upgrade to our guidance,” and Reuters reported that the uplift was driven by strong demand for photonics products used in data-centre construction. 2
But there is not much room for a stumble. Halma said a stronger pound would cut about £63 million from annual revenue and around £14 million from profit versus last year, while warning of a more uncertain economic and geopolitical backdrop; Hargreaves Lansdown data put the stock on a price-to-earnings ratio of about 41.
Berenberg struck a bullish tone in January, calling Halma “arguably the highest-quality company” in its UK industrials coverage as it raised its target price to 4,200p. In the same sector note, the bank also raised its target on Weir and upgraded Smiths Group, though it cautioned that the photonics-led rerating leaves more of Halma’s wider portfolio needing to generate fresh earnings upgrades alongside acquisitions. 3
Halma’s own consensus page, based on 17 analyst forecasts submitted between Feb. 12 and March 6, points to fiscal 2026 revenue of about £2.56 billion and adjusted operating profit of roughly £575 million including a one-off gain. That helps explain why Thursday’s statement looked more like confirmation than surprise as investors wait to see whether Halma can deliver a 23rd consecutive year of record adjusted profit. 4
