JDG Judges Scientific Plc

Judges Scientific plc

("Judges Scientific" or the "Company")

Trading Update

Judges Scientific, the group focused on acquiring and developing companies in the scientific instrument sector, today provides an update on trading.

As announced at the time of the Group's Interim Results in September, several of our Group businesses had experienced a challenging first half, driven by difficult market conditions and the deferral of some projects into H2 or 2025. We expected the second half to show significant improvement, with a number of agreements signed too late to impact the first half but contributing to the second, in addition to the signature of a 2025 coring contract.

As anticipated, H2 will show progress compared to H1. However, achievement of the expectations for the full year, which were revised downwards in July, was reliant upon the crystallisation and delivery of certain orders. We now believe these will not all occur in time to deliver against the expectations before the end of the year.

Organic order intake YTD to the end of October has progressed 4.2% vs 2023 including a coring contract by Geotek. Order intake would be 1.6% down if we excluded this contract, indicating that the general level of orders across the Group has not yet recovered to the growth path traditional for our Group.

As a result, the Board now expects Adjusted basic earnings per share for the year to 31 December 2024 to be between 270p and 300p.

In spite of the disappointing trading performance, the Board is confident that the long-term growth drivers of our business remain solid.

For further information please contact: 

Notes to editors:

Judges Scientific plc (AIM: JDG), is a group focused on acquiring and developing companies in the scientific instrument sector.  The Group consists of 25 businesses acquired since 2005.

The acquired companies are primarily UK-based with products sold worldwide to a diverse range of markets including: higher education institutions, scientific research facilities, manufacturers and regulatory authorities.  The UK is a recognised centre of excellence for scientific instruments.  The Group has received five Queen's Awards for innovation and export.

The Group's companies predominantly operate in global niche markets, with long term growth fundamentals and resilient margins.

Judges Scientific maintains a policy of selectively acquiring businesses that generate sustainable profits and cash.  Shareholder returns are created through the reduction of debt, organic growth and dividends.

For further information, please visit www.judges.uk.com