Vesuvius maintains dividend despite sharp fall in earnings

(Sharecast News) - Vesuvius reported a sharp fall in earnings for the first half of 2025 on Wednesday, as tough trading conditions in key markets and ongoing pricing pressures offset cost-saving efforts and market share gains. The FTSE 250 molten metal engineering specialist posted revenue of £907.5m for the six months ended 30 June, down 0.4% on an underlying basis and 3.1% year-on-year.

Adjusted trading profit fell 16.1% underlying to £77m, with return on sales slipping 160 basis points to 8.5%.

Free cash flow turned negative at -£12.6m, compared with £17.8m a year earlier, while net debt rose to 2.0 times EBITDA.

"With the exception of India, we have seen a continuation of the general weakness in our end markets which we highlighted in our AGM trading update in May," said chief executive Patrick André.

"We now anticipate that these challenging market conditions will persist for the balance of the year, particularly in Europe."

The group's steel division was hit by a 4.9% fall in steel production in the EU27 and UK, though output in India grew 9.2%.

Market share improved in both flow control and advanced refractories, but Vesuvius noted that pricing gains were insufficient to fully offset cost inflation in Europe and China.

Foundry markets also remained subdued, with lower activity versus the prior year but stability compared to the second half of 2024.

Both divisions faced a "challenging pricing environment", though Vesuvius delivered £10.1m in cost savings during the half and raised its 2025 savings forecast to £20m.

Despite the pressures, André said the company expected second-half performance to be in line with the first half, and reiterated confidence in medium-term growth.

"Beyond 2025, we remain confident in the growth potential of our steel and foundry markets, and in our ability to improve our profitability thanks to the success of our cost reduction efforts," he said.

An interim dividend of 7.1p per share was declared, unchanged from a year ago.

At 1101 BST, shares in Vesuvius were up 1.86% at 361.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.