Halma has recorded an almost 16% drop in its share price, despite posting record revenues and adjusted earnings in the year to 31 March.

The life-saving technology firm’s revenue jumped by 15% year-on-year in this period to £2.58bn, while its earnings increased by 22% to £594.5m.

The FTSE 100 firm, which operates in more than 20 countries, said that this profit performance, which is its 23rd consecutive year of growth, was delivered against a backdrop of "continued economic, geopolitical and market uncertainty", demonstrating the quality of its business.

In this period, its adjusted earnings per share increased by 21% to £1.14, which is "well ahead" of its long-term target, reflecting continued disciplined execution and strong operational delivery.

Furthermore, Halma invested over £600m to support further growth, including £447m in completed acquisitions.

Group chief executive at Halma, Marc Ronchetti, stated: "This has been another successful year for Halma. We grew revenue to over £2.5bn and adjusted profit to over £500m, both for the first time, and delivered on all our financial key performance indicators. Growth was broad-based across all three sectors, further strengthened by premium growth in our photonics business, and we delivered strong margins, high returns, and good cash generation.

"We delivered our 23rd consecutive year of Adjusted profit growth in an uncertain economic and geopolitical environment. This reflects the fundamental strengths of our Sustainable Growth Model, the long-term growth drivers that underpin our diverse portfolio, and the cumulative benefit of decades of disciplined choices around the markets we operate in, the companies we acquire, and the leaders we trust to run them."

Halma stated that it has made a positive start to its 2027 financial year, with a strong order book and order intake ahead of last year’s revenue.

However, it said that while the economic and geopolitical environment remains uncertain, it expects to deliver low double-digit percentage revenue in the current year.

It added that its earnings margin is also expected to be in line with 2026 financial year.

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said that Halma is "paying the price" for setting high standards for itself.

He stated: "Revenue growth is expected to slow considerably from the 12-month period which ended in March, and margins are expected to be broadly unchanged. This could represent a sensible dose of conservatism from management against an uncertain backdrop.

"For the time being, markets are clearly taken aback given Halma, thanks to its focus on safety critical and regulatory driven markets, has been prized for its consistency.

"While this was still on display given the 23rd consecutive year of profit growth and 47th consecutive year of dividend growth of 5% or more, the subdued outlook has created doubt over whether this track record will be sustained in the future."

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