London, June 12, 2026, 11:04 BST
- Halma shares clawed back some ground Friday after tumbling on results day.
- FTSE 100 firm posted record revenue and profit for FY2026, but the market looked past those numbers and latched onto guidance, which calls for slower growth in FY2027.
- Photonics is still the main swing factor, but growth is seen adding less than it did last year.
Halma plc tried to claw back some ground on Friday after a heavy drop earlier in the week, when full-year results and a weaker growth outlook sent shares tumbling. A delayed quote from Hargreaves Lansdown put Halma at 4,044p to sell and 4,046p to buy, 116p higher or up 2.95%. The previous close was 3,928p, leaving the company with a market cap near £15.27 billion.
Halma shares slumped 15.38% to £39.28 in a rough Thursday trading day, lagging behind the FTSE 100, which ended up 0.48% at 10,303.88, MarketWatch reported. The stock is now almost 20% lower than its 52-week high of £49.02 set on June 3. Trading volume spiked to 3.6 million shares, well above the 50-day average at 1.1 million.
Halma’s historic earnings didn’t disappoint. For the year to March 31, 2026, the group posted a 15% gain in revenue to £2.58 billion. Adjusted EBIT came in up 22% at £594.5 million. Adjusted EPS rose 21% to 114.05p. Statutory profit before interest and taxation jumped 27% to £520.7 million. “This has been another successful year for Halma,” Chief Executive Marc Ronchetti said. Halma
Investors are watching how fast Halma can grow next. The company is guiding to “low double-digit” organic constant-currency revenue growth in FY2027, with photonics expected to add around five percentage points of that. That forecast is down from 16% organic growth Halma is expecting in FY2026, when photonics should make up about eight points. Photonics is used in sensors, monitoring gear and for AI-driven data centre demand. Halma
Halma shares were down the most in the FTSE 100 early Thursday, with the stock at 3,962p at 08:25 GMT. The drop came after Halma said organic constant-currency growth will slow compared to last year. Morningstar’s Matthew Donen said revenue growth should ease in the photonics segment and across the group. JPMorgan called the photonics outlook likely to fall short of what investors want.
The stock is more appealing after Thursday’s drop, but it’s still not cheap. Hargreaves Lansdown shows Halma at a P/E of 34.44 and a 0.57% dividend yield. Whether it’s worth it comes down to trust in high margins, the order book, deals, and demand for AI-related photonics to keep pushing earnings. But slower photonics growth, a high valuation, or weak end-markets could make any shortfall tough to swallow.
Halma raised its full-year dividend by 7% to 24.74p a share, its 47th straight year of growing the payout 5% or more. Adjusted cash conversion hit 93%, beating the 90% goal. Halma bought five companies for a total of £447 million in the year, then added two more deals after the year ended for about £75 million. The company put £123 million into R&D and spent £56 million on capital.
Halma says it entered FY2027 with a strong order book and order intake running ahead of both last year and revenue. The company points to mixed market conditions, citing an uncertain economic and geopolitical outlook and differences across its end markets. Halma is still in the FTSE 100, employs over 9,000 people in more than 20 countries, and operates in Safety, Environment and Healthcare.
