Rotork backs full-year guidance after 'resilient' Q1

(Sharecast News) - Rotork backed its full-year guidance on Friday as the industrial valve manufacturer hailed a "resilient" first quarter. In an update for the 1 January to the end of March, the company said it performed in line with management expectations.

Order intake fell year-on-year by a low single-digit percentage on an organic constant currency basis, with good momentum in Chemical, Process and Industrial (CPI) and Water & Power orders offset by an expected drop in Oil & Gas, particularly in EMEA.

Meanwhile, revenues rose by a low single-digit percentage on the same basis. Rotork said CPI and Water & Power delivered strong growth, driven by sustained momentum in its Target Segments, including continued strength in data centres and good activity across water infrastructure and treatment markets.

As expected, Oil & Gas was softer in the period, with Rotork Service delivering "continued resilience".

Rotork said there have been some project delays in Oil & Gas markets in the Middle East due to current conditions. This reflects wider supply chain constraints and customers prioritising production restarts, it said.

"However, we remain well positioned to support customers with maintenance and repair activities as production recovers."

It said that while the region continues to experience supply chain disruption, it is "actively" managing the impact on its business and has mitigation measures in place to support customers.

Rotork said it has seen no cost inflation in the period and retains the ability to implement price increases to protect margins.

"Whilst we remain mindful of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, our 2026 outlook is unchanged, and we continue to expect further progress on an OCC basis for the group in 2026," the company said. "We expect continued good momentum in CPI and Water & Power, with our Target Segments and Rotork Service supporting performance across both divisions.

"In Oil & Gas, we continue to expect a stable performance for the year with a greater H2 weighting."

Excluding the Middle East, the company's assumptions remained unchanged, with a higher second-half bias reflecting project phasing through the year.

In the Middle East, Rotork's outlook now assumes that some of the projects delayed in the first half will be delivered in the second, alongside a modest increase in maintenance and repair activity in the region.

At 0810 BST, the shares were up 1.9% at 314.80p.

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