Castings P.L.C. (LON: CGS) reported first-half pre-tax profit of £2.0m, down from £5.0m a year earlier, after a power restriction at its William Lee foundry raised costs and cut output. Revenue was little changed at £85.9m, against £87.6m, in the six months to 30 September.
Castings makes iron castings and machines them, mainly for heavy-truck makers. The board expects the full-year result to match the recently revised market expectations. Before the update, the company’s own analyst consensus stood at adjusted pre-tax profit of £9.0m for the year to March 2027.
The interim report came out at 7am today, ahead of the London open, so the whole session is the first to trade on it.
The cause was electricity. Northern Powergrid, the network operator, restricted external power to William Lee by about 50% until full supply returned on the 24th of May, limiting production for two months. The board, in a report signed by chairman A. N. Jones, said the effects reached beyond the foundry.
The power outage and consequential reduction in output also had a significant impact on the wider group; with additional premium-rate shifts and express transport costs being incurred to protect the supply to our customers.
Castings board
Foundry profit fell to £0.2m from £4.0m, a margin of 0.3% against 4.6%.
Some of the business held up. Foundry output rose 2.6% to 21,500 tonnes, and profit at machining arm CNC Speedwell rose to £1.4m from £0.8m. Heavy trucks, about 70% of group revenue, remain in strong demand, and the new foundry line is winning work previously out of scope.
| Measure | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £85.9m | £87.6m | -1.8% |
| Profit before tax | £2.02m | £4.98m | -59.5% |
| Basic EPS | 3.48p | 8.58p | -59.4% |
| Interim dividend | 4.21p | 4.21p | Unchanged |
| Cash | £13.2m | £15.5m | -14.9% |
| Foundry output (tonnes) | 21,500 | 20,950 | +2.6% |
The interim dividend is held at 4.21p, payable on the 8th of January to shareholders on the register on the 27th of November. Cash of £13.2m is after a £6.2m dividend payment.
The second-half recovery rests on delivery arrears, orders owed to customers but not yet shipped. A large proportion remained at 30 September, and the company expects to eliminate them in the second half.