Halma (LON: HLMA), the FTSE 100 group of life-saving technology companies, raised its full-year profit margin guidance in a trading update today, and shares rose in response. The group also reaffirmed low double-digit organic revenue growth for the year to March 2027.
Halma shares traded at 3,634p by early trade today, up 1.4% from yesterday’s close of 3,584p. That leaves the stock well below the 52-week high of 4,878p it hit shortly before the 11th of June, when guidance for slower growth triggered a near-15% single-day slump.
In the update, published via the London Stock Exchange’s regulatory news service, Halma said it now expects an adjusted EBIT margin, a measure of operating profitability, of 23.5% to 24% for FY2027, up from prior guidance of around 22.7%, in line with FY2026. It attributed the upgrade to operational delivery and favourable acquisition and disposal mix across all three of its sectors: Safety, Environmental & Analysis, and Healthcare. The group also reaffirmed low double-digit organic constant-currency revenue growth, including roughly 30% organic growth in its photonics business, a premium of around five percentage points to the group rate.
Halma said order intake remains ahead of both revenue year-to-date and the comparable prior-year period, supporting the improved outlook, and that it continues to see a healthy acquisition pipeline across all three sectors. The group has invested a record £515m in acquisitions so far this year, already exceeding the £475m completed across the whole of FY2026.
On currency, Halma flagged a modest sterling headwind: if current rates of 1.35 against the dollar and 1.17 against the euro are maintained, it expects group revenue to be cut by around £8m and profit by around £2m versus FY2026, a drag it does not see as a threat to the upgraded guidance.
Reuters reported that Halma’s shares fell nearly 15% on the 11th of June after the group guided FY2027 organic growth to a slower pace than FY2026’s 16%, with broker JPMorgan flagging the photonics premium as likely to disappoint markets.
Halma’s half-year results, covering the six months to 30 September 2026, are due on the 19th of November, the first test of whether the improved margin guidance is being delivered.