Bodycote, the Macclesfield-based heat treatment and thermal processing company, said operating profit for the full year is expected to be in line with analysts’ forecasts, but warned that it faced some soft end markets. 

In the four month period since 1 July, it said revenue grew only 0.2% organically, excluding surcharges. 

“Good growth has been delivered in our Aerospace and Energy focused businesses, while conditions remain soft in Industrial Markets and Automotive,” it said. “We retain our focus on cost control and expect to make good progress in full year headline operating margins.”

Looking forward, it said: “Our end market environment remains mixed, with the challenging conditions in Automotive and Industrial Markets expected to continue into early 2025. Despite this backdrop, the resilience of our Specialist Technologies businesses and our ongoing focus on cost control gives us confidence in delivering good progress in operating margins for the full year (versus 15.9% delivered in FY 2023). Operating profit for FY 2024 is expected to be in line with market consensus.”