China smartphone shipments slumped in June on inventory overhang: Jefferies
Investing.com -- Judges Scientific stock fell 15% after the company reported its first-half trading was "materially impacted by performance in the US" and several business-specific issues.
The scientific instruments manufacturer saw organic order intake increase by 4% compared to the first 11 weeks when it was "slightly ahead." All regions reported higher order intake except North America, which declined 18%, and the UK, which fell 7%. The organic order book stood at 17.2 weeks, down from 19.2 weeks at the end of fiscal year 2024, with the total order book at 18.1 weeks.
Organic sales grew 7% in the first half, with all regions showing growth except North America, which experienced a 20% decline. China showed positive recovery, albeit from a low base. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), excluding Geotek, declined by 7% YoY due to these challenges, though EBIT grew when including Geotek.
The company now expects fiscal year 2025 earnings per share to be between 285p and 330p, implying a 54% second-half weighting, which is below the 10-year average of 57%. The midpoint of this guidance is 10% below Jefferies’ estimate of 342.3p and 16% below the consensus estimate of 367.2p.
"We continue to be positive on the longer-term Judges story, but we do not expect this update to be received well today, particularly given last year’s downgrades, and we expect mid-/high-double-digit consensus downgrades to follow. 2H will be challenging, and at this stage, there is a lack of the usual offset from M&A this year, which is unhelpful (but driven by a focus on deal quality)," Jefferies noted.
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