Morgan Advanced Materials Reports Decline in First-Half Profits

London, August 20, 2021 - Morgan Advanced Materials, a leading supplier of ceramic, carbon, and composite products, announced a decrease in pretax profit for the first half of the year. The company attributed this decline to higher costs and the short-term impact of a cyber incident that occurred in January.

According to the financial report released on Friday, pretax profit stood at £28.4 million ($36.1 million), compared to £65.7 million in the same period last year. Despite the drop in profitability, revenue saw a slight increase from £530.2 million to £553.9 million.

The operating profit also experienced a significant decline, dropping from £70.2 million in the first half of 2020 to £34.5 million this year. Morgan Advanced Materials attributed this decrease to volume decline and inefficiencies resulting from the cyber incident, which had an operating profit impact of £23 million.

However, when adjusted for exceptional and one-off items, the company's adjusted operating profit reached £50 million, down from £72.5 million last year. The company noted that pricing measures were able to offset inflation, although the adjusted operating profit margins fell from 13.7% to 9.0%.

Looking ahead, analysts' forecasts compiled by the company project a range of £120.5 million to £131 million for adjusted operating profit in 2023. Despite ongoing market conditions, Morgan Advanced Materials remains optimistic about its full-year revenue growth, which is expected to be between 2% and 4%. The company also anticipates a recovery in adjusted operating profit in the second half of the fiscal year.

The board of directors declared an interim dividend of 5.3 pence per share, which remained unchanged from the previous year.