Renishaw PLC — Call Transcript 2026

Right, good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Interim Results Presentation. It's great to be back here in person seeing you all after, I think it's been quite a long gap. It's also very handy to be doing it on the back of a good set of H1 results, which always helps. So let's crack on and have a little look through these. In terms of structure, actually, I'm going to go through in terms of some of the highlights. Mark's going to talk through the financials in more detail, and then I'm going to give some highlights before we do the Q&A on our progress against some of our strategic priorities. So first of all, positive news in terms of revenue with this real pickup that we saw in Q2. Still underlying quite mixed market conditions. Two standout areas probably for us has been the demand from our customers who make the equipment, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and that's for our encoder product line. Also significant interest from the defense industry, which is a more broader cross-sector of products. Of real significance, I think, for us, though, is not just the responding to the market conditions and the great job we do there, but it's actually on our emerging businesses and the progress that we are making there. So these are the bets that we are placing, the investments that we're making for the future, for the long term of Renishaw. And I'm going to go through with you later on some of the progress that we have made there. Thirdly, just wanted to stress, clearly, we are an organization. We pride ourselves in our investment in engineering, in R&D, for our long-term growth. The output of that is what is key. We have had some really significant new product launches recently. Genuine excitement, particularly from our sales team, on the opportunities that they now see from making the most of these. In terms of operating margin, improvements there despite currency headwinds, and we'll look through there. Actually, we're really looking forward to strong revenue and profit growth for the year ahead, and we've released our guidance for that. If we have a little look through some of the key performance indicators and some of the themes coming through here. First of all, then very much that strong growth coming through in Q2. As I said, some areas strong. Other areas, such as our sales of machine tool sensors, CMM sensors to the machine tool builders, the CMM builders, it's still quite sluggish overall, actually. The one we always talk about as the extreme is the German machine tool market, which is still quite challenging. In terms of operating margin and flow through onto the bottom line, good morning, then we have taken actions there to improve, to support this. We had a GBP 20 million cost reduction exercise and also the closure of our drug delivery business, which have supported that margin development. Also, as a business, we very much are focusing on cash and cash flow conversion of making sure we are making the most of the assets that we've invested in over the last few years. We have seen some pressure on that, though. We have had the impact of restructuring costs on that number. And also, we are investing at the moment in working capital as we respond to the production demands of our customers. Okay, that's some of the highlights. I'm going to hand over to Mark now to go through the financial numbers. Great. Thank you, Will. So I'm going to start by looking at some of the highlights from our income statement. As I said, we've had a record first half with reported revenue growth at 7.1% rising to 11.5% at constant currency. We've seen growth in all three segments, and we've also seen an improving order book in all three segments and also all three regions. When we look at regional revenue performance, however, the picture's a bit more mixed. So if we look at the Americas first, really strong growth here, 15% at reported rates, more than 15%, more than 20% at constant currency. And that was driven by strong demand coming through for high-value capital equipment. So things like our additive manufacturing machines, our five-axis coordinate measuring machines. So that's been a real success there. This region has also benefited from around GBP 5 million of higher pricing and surcharging to offset tariff duties that were introduced during 2025. When we look at APAC, also a really strong performance here. Growth of more than 10% at reported rates, more than 15% at constant currency. Here, the key positives were rising demand from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment sector for our position encoders. Also really good growth, really good demand for our Equator flexible gauge from the consumer electronics subcontract manufacturers. That's the story in APAC. EMEA is a bit of a different picture here, turnover down around 5% at both reported and constant currency basis. We've been reporting some subdued demand here in the EMEA region for a little while, and that continued throughout the first part of the half, but we did see a pickup in demand later in the period, and we ended the period with the order book stronger. We also implemented a new sales ERP system in September in some territories, and that did have an impact during the half. But hopefully, you can see from the Q2 versus Q1 performance that we've seen a real step up here in the region. It's actually the biggest step up of all of our regions from Q1-Q2. So we're moving in the right direction there. On an operating profit level, an increase of 11.4% to GBP 57.5 million and an improved operating margin by 0.6 percentage points. The moving parts there, as Will has touched on, currency in one direction, organic margin improvement in another, more of that in just a moment. But when we look at the income statement, perhaps the most notable thing you'll see is an 8.5% reduction in our gross engineering costs, which reflects some of the cost reduction action that we've taken in the last six months. Sorry, profit before tax grew by a similar amount, 11.5% to 64.1%. Effective tax rate in the period was 21.1% at reported rates rising to 21.8% on an adjusted basis. And that's perhaps more representative of what we expect to see coming through in H2. And then finally, our dividend payment remains unchanged at 16.8 pence. Right, let's take a look at the operating margin evolution. And I'm comparing now the first half of the prior year with the first half of this year. So we're starting with 15.1% that we reported last year. On the left-hand side of this bridge, you can see the external headwinds that we face largely from currency, but then being offset by the organic margin improvement we've generated through cost reduction and operating leverage. Starting with currency, that's been a headwind for us for some years now. We've seen progressive weakening of the US dollar and the Japanese yen against sterling over several years. We are exposed, of course, to this currency fluctuations because many of our costs are in sterling. Most of our revenues are in other currencies. So we seek to manage that through the use of hedging contracts, forward currency contracts over 24 months. Over the last few years, those contracts have done a good job in helping to offset some of the movements we've seen on a year-to-year basis. Indeed, last year, when we look at the prior year, we saw a particularly strong performance from our contracts. That was as a result of us taking them out at a time when sterling was much weaker than it is today. They paid out handsomely last year. That has not been repeated to the same extent. But when we look at this year, our contracts have still done a good job raising about GBP 5 million of revenue to offset roughly GBP 5.2 million of operating margin change as a result of moving exchange rates. Overall, when we wrap that up, we've got GBP 8 million less in currency income, in contract income, GBP 5.2 million of movement in currency, so GBP 13.2 million, 3.6 percentage points of margin. So a significant headwind. With tariffs, that's impacted our revenues by around 1.4% but had no impact on operating profit. And as a result, has had a small degrading effect on operating margin. Moving to the positive side of the equation, cost reduction, Will's mentioned, we ran two cost reduction programs over the last year, a company-wide operating cost reduction initiative aiming to remove GBP 20 million of cost from our run rate on an annualized basis. And we also closed down the loss-making drug delivery aspect of our neurological business, aiming to save around GBP 3 million on an annualized basis. Pleased to say those savings are starting to come through. The combined impact of those programs has been roughly a 7% headcount reduction for us at a group level to just below 5,000 employees at the end of December. And we've seen GBP 9 million of saving coming through, so 2.4 percentage points in the first half. We expect to achieve that GBP 23 million of annualised savings on an ongoing basis here forward. So that's coming through as planned. The other side of it has been operating leverage. So we've generated an 11.5% constant currency growth in the period. That has resulted, obviously, in more gross profit, which has more than offset inflationary pressures that we've seen in our cost base around things like pay, benefits, health insurance. All right, so that's the margin story. I'm going to now just walk through each of the three segment performances for you, starting with industrial metrology, our biggest segment. So here the story is solid revenue performance, growth of 4.3% rising to 8.8% on a constant currency basis. The growth drivers here were our emerging systems and software businesses. So these are our 5-axis coordinate measuring machines, our flexible gauges, and metrology software that supports both of those products and helps users to make the most of them. It's really pleasing to see growth in this area. These are emerging businesses, and we're really targeting top-line growth in here as a key part of our growth strategy. So it's really pleasing to see that coming through. Another success story here is our calibration products. This is an established product line, and we've seen growing demand here, particularly coming from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sector. So those machine builders actually use our calibration products in their factories to help them to make and pass off their machines. So we've seen rising demand coming from there as activity levels have risen. By contrast, we've seen flat sales for the sensor parts of this segment. So that's our coordinate measuring machine, machine tool probes, and also the styli accessories that go with them. So that's been flat overall, some high points in Asia, in consumer electronics, but weaker general demand, particularly in Europe and particularly in the automotive sector. So when we look at the operating performance of this business, it's roughly flat in margin terms. We saw essentially currency headwinds being pretty much offset by the combination of cost saving and operating leverage, but we ended up at pretty much the same operating margin. Let's move on to position measurements, or our other large segment. This did strong growth in the period. So we saw 7.4% rising to more than nearly 12%, sorry, at a constant currency basis. And this was something of a game of two halves. We definitely saw a really notable pickup in this business in the second quarter, and we've got great momentum going into the second half. The drivers of growth here were strong performances from our established open optical and magnetic encoder businesses. We've mentioned semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment. That's been a key driver. But actually, we've also seen strong demand from general factory automation and robotics, particularly for the magnetic encoder line. By contrast, laser encoders have seen a reduction compared to a really abnormally strong period in the prior year. These are used in front-end semi in wafer inspection. And yeah, we had an abnormally strong comparator to go against. But we're actually really confident in the long-term future of this business. We think this is volatility rather than a trend. We've seen a rising order book, and we've launched new products in this area. So we're really confident about the long-term prospects. When we look at operating performance, we've seen similar effects that we saw in the metrology business. So currency headwinds offset by cost savings to an extent. But here, the product mix change has been quite significant in this period comparator. So we've reduced by about 4 percentage points but to 23.4%. So still a strong operating performance here. And I think the more meaningful comparison to take is if you look at the comparison against the whole of last year, which was 22.5%. So the first half really was a bit of an abnormal period. So we've got good momentum here, good top-line growth, and improving underlying margins. Finally, specialized tech. So the smaller segment but the one that's grown the fastest in this period. So growth of more than 25% at a constant currency basis. So really strong growth. That has been almost largely coming from our additive manufacturing business within here. So we have a strategy here of selling to key accounts, and we've seen many of those adding to their fleet of machines as they ramp up production. But we're also targeting new customers, and we've seen quite a lot of those coming in in this period. We've seen particularly strong demand from both new and existing customers in the aerospace and defense sector. That's been the notable change in demand in the period. Spectroscopy down slightly. Slightly stronger in Americas, slightly weaker elsewhere. But we've seen good order momentum on that recently. Normally has a stronger H2. So looking forward to that this year. And in neurosurgical, that's the smallest part of this product group. The key sort of thing here is that we completed the closure of the loss-making drug delivery aspect in the period. So when we wrap all of that up and look at the moving parts on margin, we can see a real step change in performance here, 22 percentage points of margin improvement. We're now just short of break-even on this segment. The moving parts there, yep, currency again, slightly less proportionately than the others because of slightly different regional sales patterns. We've seen cost reduction, obviously, coming through with both the company-wide program and the focused drug delivery activity. But the large majority of the margin improvement coming through here is from operating leverage with the growing AM business. So that's been the key driver of margin improvement. Right, lastly from me, just a quick look at return on capital and cash generation. We focus on return on invested capital to make sure that we're allocating resources to profitable investments. We saw an improvement here to 13.2%, so 0.6 percentage points. We have a target of 15%. Clearly, we have some way to go. The way we're going to get there is by driving our operating margins but up to our target range and also keeping a lid on investment in capital. We have had a period of higher investment in recent years in property. That's now behind us, and we're operating at a lower level of CapEx. In the first half, CapEx was GBP 17 million, and we're expecting to run at a rate of about GBP 40 million for the year as a whole. That's focused mainly on plant and equipment to support capacity and productivity growth. That's part of the cash generation story. The other side is working capital. We have ramped up working capital in the period. Obviously, we've seen a bit of an inflection in demand in Q2. And so that's triggered us, obviously, to increase our production rate, drawing in more piece parts, more work in progress, etc. So we've seen that during the period. So our cash conversion overall, just below our target at 68%. But we think we're doing all the right things here in terms of keeping a lid on CapEx and making sure we're supporting growth with our balance sheet. Finally, our cash balances, currently just over GBP 240 million at the end of the period, so down compared to the summer. And this reflects the outflows that we've seen on the cost reduction activities, on working capital, and on the dividend payment in respect of H2 last year. All right, I think that's enough from me. I'll hand back to Will. Lovely. Thank you very much, Mark. So as I said, I'd like to now talk through some of our strategic priorities and a little bit of a look more into the future. I'm going to focus on the first three of these because I think the cash generation and ROIC we have already touched on. So the first area here is the key strategy for us, which we've always talked about, of long-term growth through product innovation. It's our key overriding strategy. To set the scene for this, I just want to reflect back, firstly, on our long-term value creation model, something we've shared and many of you will be familiar with. Just to go through, if we look on the left here, then we can see that the markets that we operate in, that GBP 6 billion addressable market, and really most importantly, the fact that they are favorable markets that we think, on average, are growing by more than 5% a year. You can see the drivers in the 4 boxes around the addressable market. What we've seen recently probably is acceleration here, all the news on AI and the data centers there. Really feels like it's accelerating the growth from the electrification area there. We are certainly seeing, I think, continued acceleration of our customers also looking at the adoption of automation and so how to automate processes right across from machining to metrology, a range of things there. We're also seeing probably a broader one, which maybe cuts across slightly differently with all these of the expenditure on defense. It's really how do we help customers there with their manufacturing agility, ramp-ups, new technologies to go in there. So positive, some changes going on there from our market. The key bit for us then is how do we outperform. On the top right, you can see those key three themes. The first is growing in existing markets. This is how do we sell more sensor technology normally to the machine tool, the machine builders around the world, whether that's semiconductor or machine tool. And we'll often talk about this in terms of the number of dollars we get per machine tool spindle sold for the machine tool industry, for example. Next, increasing technology value is about us selling the increasingly complicated systems, so capital goods together with the software to enable them. Then thirdly is looking in terms of moving into new markets. To be clear, this is very close-adjacent new markets to where we already operate. With all of these, the innovation side being disruptive, having the USPs is absolutely key for us to succeed and give our sales teams around the world the strongest advantage that we can. I'm really pleased that actually, despite reducing engineering expenditure, what we are seeing is a really strong pipeline of products that we have recently launched. Also, we've got a really healthy pipeline of products to come through for the future. I just want to highlight a few that I think are really key for our strategy and for our success. So if we first will look at industrial metrology, we've had a really strong reception for the Equator-X and MODUS IM Equator software that goes with it. Equator-X brings very high-speed measurement to the shop floor, and it does it without the need for a master part to compare with. So our customers immediately get the benefit that it brings. The real enabler with it is the software, which dramatically de-skills the level of knowledge needed to be able to program the device. So what we have with the combination of these two is amazing performance on the shop floor, metrology where you need it at the point of manufacture, and also far simpler for our customers to deploy, and far more flexible in terms of the range of different parts that they can measure. This is really key for us. You can see there's excitement from our existing sales team all around the world and what they can do, the customers that liked our existing products but need this. But there's also excitement in terms of the new routes to market that we can open up. So people who are selling already a machining and manufacturing solution where this can be a part of it, they can own it, they can sell it. So a lot going on there and a lot to do. From position measurement, Mark talked earlier about with our laser encoder product line being sold into wafer inspection. The great thing here, this is always a market where the challenges of the next generation of wafer technology are getting smaller. These customers always have really tough metrology challenges. We've really stepped forward with our next generation of laser encoder in terms of the performance that we are now giving to those customers. Again, had the chance to meet some of them recently. Really positive on the relationship that we have with them. ASTRiA, we have talked about. So this is actually a new area for us using inductive. Again, it's been really well received by the market in terms of the metrology performance that it delivers. And then finally, from a specialized technology point of view, Strada is our new Raman instrument. Raman, traditionally, is an instrument used for the Raman expert in the Raman lab who will do things. Strada is designed to simplify. It automates the Raman process from a hardware, dramatically simplifies the software. So it's Raman for the non-Raman person. So if you want to solve a problem, you can do it with this. You don't need to know anything about the technology that is inside. So this has opened up different opportunities, different markets for us with Raman. And finally, LIBERTAS is new software that we have launched to go with our additive manufacturing business. So what this does is when you are making a part additively, you have to put in supports to hold it in place. And what LIBERTAS does is by doing very clever novel scanning strategies, dramatically reduces the number of supports that you need. So what this does is it speeds up the cycle time. You don't have to build these supports. You save time. You save waste because you're not processing the material. And you also save post-processing time because there's a lot less than of support material to remove after the build. So it's pushing forward the productivity of our machine for our customers. What it also does, actually, is really improve. The tricky surface on the additive part is the bottom. And the surface finish of that with our new software is really noticeably moved and a step change of performance there. This was really well received by a number of our customers. So a strong, healthy product launch is there. Much more to come in the future. So while we absolutely see that our future is the growth, what we've been clear on and talked to you about is making sure that the business is as focused and as lean as it can be to support that growth. If we look at the initiatives that we have going forward, then in terms of this graph, you can see that, I guess, Mark earlier brought us up in terms of the 15.7% that we end up with this half year now that we've just announced on. For the rest of this year, we still see continuing to have some currency headwinds, some benefit from the cost reduction program, and then actually the flow through of the margin from the revenue development taking us up to our end-of-year results. The interesting bit really is going forward. We've set ourselves targets on this. Some of that will be achieved by the revenue flow in the future of looking at the growth strategy, that innovation-led growth strategy. But the other bit is then the development on productivity across the group. We're in early stages on this. I guess we've already done some activities, which we've talked about. We are very much now in the planning stage of what are the best opportunities that we have as a business, going through that and then working on the program to deploy that. So when we're back up here for Capital Markets Day in June, it's going to be a great chance to update you in more detail on those plans and what we intend to do. And thirdly, I want to spend a little bit of time on the emerging businesses. As I highlighted at the start, I think overall, this is the bit that is the most encouraging for me with the developments that we have seen here. So right across the board on our different reporting segments, we have emerging businesses. What we have looked at here over the last several years is quite a bit of work and focus on these areas. And you'll have seen if you've been monitoring for a while that some of these businesses are ones that we have divested or closed. Some of them are ones that we've had for a while, but we've made quite significant strategic changes on them. And those ones I would classify as the metrology, CMM gauging systems, and additive manufacturing have both had, and in some respects, quite a similar of really focusing down, understanding what our differentiators are, targeting key customers, and making sure we are very clear what we are about. And it's been great to see both of them really starting to do well. Additive, in particular, this time, that strategy of focusing on customers with volume opportunity, focusing on a highly productive single-size machine is really starting to pay dividends. And what we're now seeing is there's repeat orders coming through, both from actually the customers that we've talked about in the past, whether that's often medical that we talk about, but is really also being accelerated now with interest and customers in defense understanding the opportunities that additive gives for them. Now, what we also did when we exited from some of the business that we didn't feel were going to meet the criteria for what we wanted for the long term for the business was we did pick out some of the best areas of innovation that we felt we had across the group and tried to accelerate those. As Mark talked about when he was talking about the position measurement, both enclosed optical encoders really starting to go well. But I think that for me, the star here is definitely on the inductive encoders, FORTiS. I talked about it in the innovation. We've launched this as our MVP of saying, "We're just going to do one size. We're going to get it out. We're going to really hit the deadlines." The team did a fantastic job of doing it. The feedback from customers, the metrology is superb. The ease of use is superb. And now we have customers saying that they really want to switch over to our technology, design us in on existing platforms, design us in on new platforms. Now, this is designed for a broad range of industries. The one at the moment where it feels like it's hitting the sweet spot is on the defense industry. We have actually recently made the decision that we need to invest more from an engineering and a manufacturing point of view to make the most of the immediate opportunities that we have here. These businesses all take time to come through, but this is one that feels like it is working at a different pace to what we are used to. Really important for us, and when we're talking through with the team internally, moving these emerging businesses through into established is key. We have a lot of exciting R&D going on for the future, some of which is going to power existing businesses, but some of it is the new emerging businesses of the future. So we need to make space for it to come through so we can invest in it by migrating some of these at the moment. So lots of positivity going forward. With us, there's always the uncertainty in the markets that we operate in, but we certainly feel like we have momentum going into H2. And I'm really pleased to give a positive revenue and profit trading guidance for the year ahead. Thank you very much. We now have time for Q&A, which is great to be doing in person. Thank you. Thanks, Will, Mark. Lacie Midgley here, Bloomberg Intelligence. Just a couple from me. First, I guess on the China strategy at the full year, we talked a little bit about the entry-level market there, perhaps kind of looking at lower-priced alternatives to some of your core products. I know we're not quite far on from the full year in that discussion, but is there any update on the strategy there and how that's evolved and any progress you can update us on? Yeah, certainly. So I think I'm just trying to think back to exactly what we said at full year. But certainly, what we are looking at now is we have certain products which are established, but we can tweak and adjust so that they are limited in performance for an entry-level China market, so we can targetedly go after business at a lower price to the customer. We're doing that in quite a limited way and testing things out. So that's very specific. We're also getting the innovation engine. And it's interesting here, particularly probably on some of the more sensor technology side of the business, the innovation engine has come up with some really good ideas on stripping manufacturing cost and simple designs, particularly encoders. There's some really quite exciting stuff for the future coming through that allows us to target the entry-level market at a different price point. Now, people always worry about this in terms of what does that mean in terms of threat of the different areas. But actually, this is stuff which is designed such that it's only suitable for entry-level. What we always see in things like the encoder market is things gradually moving on. So some areas will become more commoditized. As that happens, we'll have new opportunities elsewhere. So. That's really helpful. Thank you. On additive manufacturing, I mean, it's clearly moving in the right direction, which is great to see. I think these are obviously much bigger ticket items for you. Not many are going to be needed to kind of move that specialized technologies aisle. I mean, you talk to the defense customers, but in terms of size, are these smaller end users? I'm just trying to think about how significant the move is there, how quickly we get to that becoming an established business. Is this about kind of expanding AM usage and really embedding the technology with your existing customers, or is it growing the base and new customers? I know you've talked to both of those, but a bit of extra color on how you're seeing that would be helpful. I think both of those are key. And often, we'll try and say, "Look, we're focusing on existing customers and repeat business and not doing too much." And then new customers will come along. So absolutely, we're targeting existing and new. Size of the customers can range from really large to far more dedicated specialists supplying into industries. I think the most important bit across the board on this is people embracing and understanding the benefits, designing for AM, and showing then to their customers, "This is the advantage you can get and what we can do for you now with this." So it feels like for a long time and we've had this on machine tool probes. We had it on Equators. We had it on the ballbar product and calibration software doing the marketing. Once the customer starts saying, "This is what it can do," things start to really accelerate. There will for sure be ups and downs on that journey. As you say, with big-ticket items, it doesn't take that much to change. It's also different for us from a manufacturing point of view. Ramping up with encoders is somewhat different to ramping up with the scale and complexity of an AM machine. Thank you. Mark Davies Jones at Stifel for a couple of things, please. Firstly, slightly longer-term question, but obviously, it's frustrating in some ways to see all the good organic progress and profitability eaten up by FX. I'm not going to ask you about a hedging strategy. But more about the cost base. I mean, you are unusual in having so much of your R&D and manufacturing located in the home market rather than pushing that out into the regions. Is there any change in the thinking about that, or do you think that's caught your ability to sort of control the technology go-to-market? Yes, that's a very good question and one that we are considering at the moment. My honest thought is probably the reason that we would be moving any manufacturing would be for geopolitical access reasons. Because honestly, as we have things in terms of single point of manufacture areas, we feel is extremely efficient. So this is one of our strategy decision topics of what we should be doing. And are there certain products? It could be some of the stuff that was tied in with the question on low cost, which are ones that we decide we make further afield. I don't think we'd be doing this to try and the primary reason for doing this would not be to give ourselves more stability from a currency point of view. It would be a nice benefit from it. Okay. And just a little one. I won't ask you about share buybacks because you didn't say anything. Given the strength of the numbers and the strength of the balance sheet, is a flat dividend a bit mean? Is there some sort of reweighting to your thinking around that? So we target a dividend cover of two. And if you look at the midpoint on the profit for the end of year, then this would give us that with a flat divvy. Clearly, I guess we have an optimism around the business, but it is one quarter that things have happened, and we don't want everyone to get carried away. So just I guess that probably the fuller answer to that is on a capital allocation point of view, this is more of a strategic question for us to go through as a board of thinking of how we want to run the business and use that cash or return that cash. So that's the bigger question for the future, not addressed by a divvy, really. Okay. Thank you. Thanks. It's Richard Page from Deutsche Numis. Two from me as well, please. On the defense, it sounds as though I may have been getting this wrong, but your growth is going to be ahead of the market. There's new applications or new customers you're winning within that. Can you just elaborate on sort of end use within the defense world, please? Yeah, really broad. So we will have so ASTRiA, we talked about, which will be something that defense customers could integrate. Additive manufacturing can be something that parts can be made with versus a lot of indirect stuff, probably through machine tool CMM builders, etc., which will allow the metrology and the precision of machine parts needed for going into defense. So direct and indirect, a real mixture there. In terms of where we are on investment curves, I'm not sure that we really know, to be honest. Thank you. And the other word that normally goes with defense, aerospace. We haven't spoken about it much here, but obviously, with the industry ramp and so forth, you expect that to be a reasonably strong area of demand for you as well. Yeah, I'm not sure what exactly our aerospace numbers are at the moment, but it's not a. I would say that's probably where we're seeing that coming through with our AGILITY sales, particularly in the Americas. We've got a lot of key customers that are in the aero engine sector in particular, but also airframe to a lesser extent. So that's been a driver of performance more recently in the non-defense element of A&D, although obviously, there's some overlap there in the engine business. They tend to serve both sectors. Thank you. I think one key when you're thinking about additive manufacturing and I think this is a good thing for all of us, but if you're working with an aerospace, there is an awful lot of checking balances, review. So it's a very long development time that you're working with a customer before you get sales. Defense is far quicker on things that maybe don't have as long a lifetime. Perhaps if I could just add as well, I think that there's quite a lot of new business formation going on at the moment in some of the later, the more recent platforms that are being developed for modern warfare. There's new players entering the business, and we're seeing some of that within our customer base as well as repeat business coming from established customers. Hi, it's Bruno Gjani from UBS. Just because we were on that defense topic, I just have a small follow-up. When you mentioned on the inductive encoder side that you were winning some customers and you were now being specked in on some new accounts, does that specifically relate to defense? Because if that's the case, I was wondering whether if now you're being specced in, you could actually see a material rise within that product line, or how are you sort of thinking about that component? Yes, this is still small. We have one size of ASTRiA at the moment. And it's great with the customers. They love it. But suddenly, it's okay, I need this size, and I need this size, and I need this size, which does create some engineering and manufacturing work. So yes, that's going to be a positive. It's quick in our terms that we think of for encoder business development, but it's still not going to have a material impact in the next year or so. Understood. It reads as if the emerging product line businesses were really strong within the half and the quarter. I was just wondering if there was any way you could maybe roughly quantify the contribution to growth from those emerging products. Might not be. I think probably at the moment, I think take the positivity, but probably we're better off keeping it just to the reporting segments that we have. Understood. Were there any subtle differences in terms the order trends were really encouraging or sort of read to be really encouraging ahead of revenue growing really well? The order book was growing. Were there any subtle differences within what you observed in order intake, particularly as it relates maybe to Q2? So for example, I'm thinking of you called out machine sensors as being actually quite flat in the half. Did you see any sort of pickup on the order intake side there that's worthy of calling out, or not really? It's sort of similar drivers to revenue. Not worthy of calling out, I would say, on the machine tool sensors. The places that we saw the stronger growth were also the places that the revenue picked up. There's a strong correlation there. So additive position measurement into semi, those were probably the highlights. But generally, automation demand for the wider position encoder business as well. Just a final one that I was sort of wondering on is on laser encoders in terms of the mix headwind in the first half. What I wanted to get a sense of is whether the mix in the first half is abnormally low within laser encoders, and therefore, there's a potential for that to grow in the coming, so you'd say, 12-24 months, or was it that the mix in the first half of last year was abnormally high and actually we're at a normal level today? The latter is more the case. So it was an exceptional period in the prior year. I'd say that laser encoder product line has been a real success story for us over the last sort of 10 years or so. And we have a strong niche position in wafer inspection. And that is obviously tied to front-end semi, and the trends in that market look decent at the moment. And we've seen rising order books. So we're optimistic that if you look through the perturbation of the prior year, there's a nice growth story here. Understood. I'll pass it on. Sorry, can I do a couple more? Defense, I don't remember being in your sort of breakdown of end markets being a big chunk in prior years. So could you give some sort of sense of the scale of that for you? I know it's tricky with your routes to market. Yeah, yeah. I think we normally talk about 5%. It feels like that's creeping up at the moment. And it's probably being quite impactful in certain areas that we've talked about. So it normally sits within what we call, I mean, aerospace normally is where defense sits. We haven't called it A&D, and perhaps we should. But the bulk of that historically has been civil. But yeah, the defense proportion of that is rising. And as a share of the total, it feels like it's increasing overall as well as other segments are less buoyant. Okay. Thank you. And the other one is you talked about geopolitical considerations in where you put your manufacturing. How about where your customers do? There's been all this talk about kind of reshoring and much less evidence of it actually driving investment. Are you seeing any of that coming through? I think it's really hard to say. What we are certainly seeing is some of our customers where we would have shipped product to a certain country now saying, "Okay, actually, over the next six months, we are migrating manufacturing to a different area." Some of that's going the other way. So that's countries moving out, actually. And then there's a broadening in other areas. So it's actually quite complicated. We met with some of the electronics equipment manufacturers recently. And I think we probably need to understand a little bit more about why they are going to certain areas and what those trends are going to be. For us, that doesn't matter much because we'll do the work with the design teams, and then it tends to be just where we deliver the products to. No, I guess I was also looking at the strength in the U.S. Do you think more product-specific than market? I think there's a good capital investment going on there at the moment. Again, probably some of the underlying manufacturing with component side of it is maybe less. We see some things going in, some things going out. Clearly, if you're a manufacturer that's going to be exporting, making stuff in the U.S., you may decide you're better off not making it there, which we have seen. Okay. Thank you. Much to the complaints of our U.S. team of doing all the work and then moving the business to a yeah. It's been a long-running story. Harry Phillips from Peel Hunt, just one question, please, on the order book. You talk a lot about the order book in the statement, but obviously, don't give us a number. So I'm assuming it's reasonably short cycle. I mean, in terms of the book-to-bill, given the revenue growth you've had in the period, can you at least give us an idea of where the book-to-bill might be against that? And then would it be right to assume that the order book is reasonably short cycle, maybe additive manufacturing apart, or is that naive? It's not an it is. I think the one thing we would always put in as a caveat, so you're right with the additive. On encoder, what we will see is when our customers start to get more stressed because they really think they've got orders coming through, and they often don't find out until last minute, they will start to put on call-off orders, and they'll give us a 12-month, 18-month order with predicted volumes, which will go on to our order book. They will cancel that extremely quickly if they change their mind. But they will also shout when they want double that. So we look at the order book, and it gives us a feeling, but you can't rely on it either. We know that some of it will melt away. I mean, just precisely on that point, I suppose twofold is, does that heat, if you like, give you a window around pricing? I mean, if you get extreme demands in terms of potential demand pool and I suspect you don't want to sort of fess up online, but. And then the second is, how you plan your manufacturing around that? Because clearly, if you sort of responded directly to those order flows, you could load your cost base. And then, as you say, if you then get a cancellation, you're left with sort of stranded cost-type stuff. So how do you sort of what's the rational way of interpreting that sort of front-end into a sort of smoother manufacturing curve? You say smooth as though it's anything but normally when these things happen. So clearly, we're trying to work on very uncertain data. And we talk about as many things, even if there's investment going in, the end customer may not decide on which supplier they want to use. Those suppliers may all be using our encoders somewhere, but they may be using different encoders from us. So you can't even say, "Okay, we know it's going to come. Let's make this," because then this customer gets it, and they want something different. With us, it's trying to make sure as much as possible long-term strategy is migrate customers to our latest technology. That's far more designed for automated assembly so we can ramp up, and then it's supply chain holding up for us to be able to respond. Safety stocks, and when we look at it in terms of our invested capital, we are high there because we know this happens in the markets that we're operating in. We have to deal with that. Then there's just a lot of panic that goes on to try and make everything happen as quickly as it can. It is, on the more commoditized stuff, then quite complicated of understanding because often, we may even be dual-sourced. So it's us and a competitor are both designed into a product. Then it may be then who can supply better, quicker, whatever else. Just how we're also increasing our use of temporary labor in some parts of the supply chain for things like cables for encoders, which there's a lot of them to be made, and we use more temporary labor in our plants in India. Is one over there? Oh, yeah. Or do you want to go first, and then we'll yeah, as you've got it, yeah. Just have a quick follow-up or not a follow-up, but a question on ERP. Could you perhaps provide an update in regards to how that's planning out in terms of phasing, strategy, sort of key milestones to come? Yes, we can. So it's certainly been a challenge. Having done a small Canadian office, which went relatively smoothly, we've now done our most complicated U.K. center. We experienced an awful lot of challenges. I think it's fair to say we are through the worst of that now, but we still have a number of challenges that we want to make sure are resolved and working smoothly before we roll this out further, with Germany being our next company that will transfer over to D365. So yes, it has not been a pleasant experience, and a lot of lessons have been learned. Understood. On the machine tool builder market, it sounds as if Europe has been soft for a while. I was just wondering whether you're seeing any signs of green shoots as it relates to German stimulus spending in 2026 and beyond, or are those not apparent yet? The last conversation I had was back at the end of last year with the head of a German machine tool company. They were talking about this being a five-year recession like they saw back in the 1990s of a really tough time. Didn't think it was going to get any worse. It's just like yeah, it's really tough over there, domestic market, export market. I think, as we talked about, we've seen some of them being taken over. Yeah, it's tough. Lastly, could we touch maybe upon humanoids? There are some companies in the market, sort of traditional industrial companies with, let's say, less expertise in automation and robotics that have been talking about this quite a lot, and the financial market has rewarded them for it. Do you have a suitable product today that could serve that market? Do you have any existing relationships with sort of humanoid OEMs? And do you view it as a potential opportunity, say, over the next 5-10 years? Okay. So I thought the first bit is, are we going to do a humanoid robot, which would be an easy no. No, we are definitely not going to do that. So the bit we are talking with some people around here is on the encoder, the retrofit encoder technology. In our view, probably, this is going to end up being a quite commoditized low-end market. And the price point they'll be looking at is not going to be attractive, and we've got better opportunities to go after. So it's something we look at, we'll monitor, but I don't see it being significant for us. Got it. That's a question I may have. Yeah. Morning, Rich Hill from Jefferies. Just a couple of questions just looking at margins. Looking at position measurement, obviously, you had one of the largest margin movements kind of out in the division. Just wanted to ask, you've kind of talked about FX and the mix, just whether there's anything else in there, perhaps more cost falling in there comparatively. And I guess to Bruno's question earlier with it perhaps normalising, just how you kind of see that in the second half, whether kind of that bit of growth in the order book for the laser encoders will kind of offset it a little bit for the second half. I'll take that, yeah. So I mean, I don't think we see anything sort of particularly different in terms of sort of cost-based escalation going on in there. We did reduce costs slightly less in the position measurement sort of side of the organization and some of the other areas in the cost reduction process. But that was because we had some areas that we were really seeking to invest in and some of the emerging elements of the product line that we felt we wanted to allocate resource to. So it had a slightly lower proportion, but we're talking a percentile. So it's not a huge factor in this. So no, the primary driver in the short term was mix. But we're seeing it's well into the 20s in operating margin, and I think long-term going in the right direction. Okay, thanks. And then, if I may, just chance question, looking at your kind of emerging products, and we've heard their kind of importance for your strategy going forward, just in terms of margins and appreciate not specifics, but the assumption being that they're lower kind of margin to go as they come in, as you gain that market share. But just looking at that kind of profile as they become more developed, I guess what kind of timeframe or any other details you could give us there would be great. Do you mean in terms of gross margin, sorry, or bottom line? More bottom line. Okay. Yeah. So if they're emerging, they are definitely ones that are not hitting our profitability targets at the moment. They're at different stages. So we have targets on when different ones should be getting into better stages of profitability. Ones like CMM and gauging are far more established than some of the ones that we have just launched. Okay, thank you. Chris, have we got anything online? No? Nothing, yet. Okay. All right. Well, it feels like perhaps closing remarks. Yeah. So if there are no more questions, I guess in terms of overall, great to be back here in person. As I said at the start, it feels like a really good H1 set of results. Still lots of uncertainty, as there always is with us going forward in the short term. For me, I think the leaving messages would be on the medium to long term, if you look at the opportunities we have from the innovation engine and also the progress we're making on those emerging businesses and the focus areas that we have there. That's the excitement that is within the business and the excitement that should be around Renishaw. So thank you all very much.

Speaker 9: Right, good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Interim Results Presentation. It's great to be back here in person seeing you all after, I think it's been quite a long gap. It's also very handy to be doing it on the back of a good set of H1 results, which always helps. So let's crack on and have a little look through these. In terms of structure, actually, I'm going to go through in terms of some of the highlights. Mark's going to talk through the financials in more detail, and then I'm going to give some highlights before we do the Q&A on our progress against some of our strategic priorities. So first of all, positive news in terms of revenue with this real pickup that we saw in Q2. Still underlying quite mixed market conditions. Right, good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Interim Results Presentation. right good morning everyone and welcome to our interim results presentation It's great to be back here in person seeing you all after, I think it's been quite a long gap. it's great to be back here in person seeing you all after i think it's been quite a long gap It's also very handy to be doing it on the back of a good set of H1 results, which always helps. it's also very handy to be doing it on the back of a good set of h1 results which always helps So let's crack on and have a little look through these. so let's crack on and have a little look through these In terms of structure, actually, I'm going to go through in terms of some of the highlights. in terms of structure actually i'm going to go through in terms of some of the highlights Mark's going to talk through the financials in more detail, and then I'm going to give some highlights before we do the Q&A on our progress against some of our strategic priorities. mark's going to talk through the financials in more detail and then i'm going to give some highlights before we do the q&a on our progress against some of our strategic priorities So first of all, positive news in terms of revenue with this real pickup that we saw in Q2. so first of all positive news in terms of revenue with this real pickup that we saw in q2 Still underlying quite mixed market conditions. still underlying quite mixed market conditions Two standout areas probably for us has been the demand from our customers who make the equipment, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and that's for our encoder product line. Also significant interest from the defense industry, which is a more broader cross-sector of products. Of real significance, I think, for us, though, is not just the responding to the market conditions and the great job we do there, but it's actually on our emerging businesses and the progress that we are making there. So these are the bets that we are placing, the investments that we're making for the future, for the long term of Renishaw. And I'm going to go through with you later on some of the progress that we have made there. Thirdly, just wanted to stress, clearly, we are an organization. We pride ourselves in our investment in engineering, in R&D, for our long-term growth. Two standout areas probably for us has been the demand from our customers who make the equipment, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and that's for our encoder product line. two standout areas probably for us has been the demand from our customers who make the equipment the semiconductor manufacturing equipment and that's for our encoder product line Also significant interest from the defense industry, which is a more broader cross-sector of products. also significant interest from the defense industry which is a more broader cross-sector of products Of real significance, I think, for us, though, is not just the responding to the market conditions and the great job we do there, but it's actually on our emerging businesses and the progress that we are making there. of real significance i think for us though is not just the responding to the market conditions and the great job we do there but it's actually on our emerging businesses and the progress that we are making there So these are the bets that we are placing, the investments that we're making for the future, for the long term of Renishaw. so these are the bets that we are placing the investments that we're making for the future for the long term of renishaw And I'm going to go through with you later on some of the progress that we have made there. and i'm going to go through with you later on some of the progress that we have made there Thirdly, just wanted to stress, clearly, we are an organization. thirdly just wanted to stress clearly we are an organization We pride ourselves in our investment in engineering, in R&D, for our long-term growth. we pride ourselves in our investment in engineering in r&d for our long-term growth The output of that is what is key. We have had some really significant new product launches recently. Genuine excitement, particularly from our sales team, on the opportunities that they now see from making the most of these. In terms of operating margin, improvements there despite currency headwinds, and we'll look through there. Actually, we're really looking forward to strong revenue and profit growth for the year ahead, and we've released our guidance for that. If we have a little look through some of the key performance indicators and some of the themes coming through here. First of all, then very much that strong growth coming through in Q2. As I said, some areas strong. Other areas, such as our sales of machine tool sensors, CMM sensors to the machine tool builders, the CMM builders, it's still quite sluggish overall, actually. The output of that is what is key. the output of that is what is key We have had some really significant new product launches recently. we have had some really significant new product launches recently Genuine excitement, particularly from our sales team, on the opportunities that they now see from making the most of these. genuine excitement particularly from our sales team on the opportunities that they now see from making the most of these In terms of operating margin, improvements there despite currency headwinds, and we'll look through there. in terms of operating margin improvements there despite currency headwinds and we'll look through there Actually, we're really looking forward to strong revenue and profit growth for the year ahead, and we've released our guidance for that. actually we're really looking forward to strong revenue and profit growth for the year ahead and we've released our guidance for that If we have a little look through some of the key performance indicators and some of the themes coming through here. if we have a little look through some of the key performance indicators and some of the themes coming through here First of all, then very much that strong growth coming through in Q2. first of all then very much that strong growth coming through in q2 As I said, some areas strong. as i said some areas strong Other areas, such as our sales of machine tool sensors, CMM sensors to the machine tool builders, the CMM builders, it's still quite sluggish overall, actually. other areas such as our sales of machine tool sensors cmm sensors to the machine tool builders the cmm builders it's still quite sluggish overall actually The one we always talk about as the extreme is the German machine tool market, which is still quite challenging. In terms of operating margin and flow through onto the bottom line, good morning, then we have taken actions there to improve, to support this. We had a GBP 20 million cost reduction exercise and also the closure of our drug delivery business, which have supported that margin development. Also, as a business, we very much are focusing on cash and cash flow conversion of making sure we are making the most of the assets that we've invested in over the last few years. We have seen some pressure on that, though. We have had the impact of restructuring costs on that number. And also, we are investing at the moment in working capital as we respond to the production demands of our customers. Okay, that's some of the highlights. The one we always talk about as the extreme is the German machine tool market, which is still quite challenging. the one we always talk about as the extreme is the german machine tool market which is still quite challenging In terms of operating margin and flow through onto the bottom line, good morning, then we have taken actions there to improve, to support this. in terms of operating margin and flow through onto the bottom line good morning then we have taken actions there to improve to support this We had a GBP 20 million cost reduction exercise and also the closure of our drug delivery business, which have supported that margin development. we had a gbp 20 million cost reduction exercise and also the closure of our drug delivery business which have supported that margin development Also, as a business, we very much are focusing on cash and cash flow conversion of making sure we are making the most of the assets that we've invested in over the last few years. also as a business we very much are focusing on cash and cash flow conversion of making sure we are making the most of the assets that we've invested in over the last few years We have seen some pressure on that, though. we have seen some pressure on that though We have had the impact of restructuring costs on that number. we have had the impact of restructuring costs on that number And also, we are investing at the moment in working capital as we respond to the production demands of our customers. and also we are investing at the moment in working capital as we respond to the production demands of our customers Okay, that's some of the highlights. okay that's some of the highlights I'm going to hand over to Mark now to go through the financial numbers. I'm going to hand over to Mark now to go through the financial numbers. i'm going to hand over to mark now to go through the financial numbers

Speaker 6: Great. Thank you, Will. So I'm going to start by looking at some of the highlights from our income statement. As I said, we've had a record first half with reported revenue growth at 7.1% rising to 11.5% at constant currency. We've seen growth in all three segments, and we've also seen an improving order book in all three segments and also all three regions. When we look at regional revenue performance, however, the picture's a bit more mixed. So if we look at the Americas first, really strong growth here, 15% at reported rates, more than 15%, more than 20% at constant currency. And that was driven by strong demand coming through for high-value capital equipment. So things like our additive manufacturing machines, our five-axis coordinate measuring machines. So that's been a real success there. Great. great Thank you, Will. thank you will So I'm going to start by looking at some of the highlights from our income statement. so i'm going to start by looking at some of the highlights from our income statement As I said, we've had a record first half with reported revenue growth at 7.1% rising to 11.5% at constant currency. as i said we've had a record first half with reported revenue growth at 7.1% rising to 11.5% at constant currency We've seen growth in all three segments, and we've also seen an improving order book in all three segments and also all three regions. we've seen growth in all three segments and we've also seen an improving order book in all three segments and also all three regions When we look at regional revenue performance, however, the picture's a bit more mixed. when we look at regional revenue performance however the picture's a bit more mixed So if we look at the Americas first, really strong growth here, 15% at reported rates, more than 15%, more than 20% at constant currency. so if we look at the americas first really strong growth here 15% at reported rates more than 15% more than 20% at constant currency And that was driven by strong demand coming through for high-value capital equipment. and that was driven by strong demand coming through for high-value capital equipment So things like our additive manufacturing machines, our five-axis coordinate measuring machines. so things like our additive manufacturing machines our five-axis coordinate measuring machines So that's been a real success there. so that's been a real success there This region has also benefited from around GBP 5 million of higher pricing and surcharging to offset tariff duties that were introduced during 2025. When we look at APAC, also a really strong performance here. Growth of more than 10% at reported rates, more than 15% at constant currency. Here, the key positives were rising demand from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment sector for our position encoders. Also really good growth, really good demand for our Equator flexible gauge from the consumer electronics subcontract manufacturers. That's the story in APAC. EMEA is a bit of a different picture here, turnover down around 5% at both reported and constant currency basis. This region has also benefited from around GBP 5 million of higher pricing and surcharging to offset tariff duties that were introduced during 2025. this region has also benefited from around gbp 5 million of higher pricing and surcharging to offset tariff duties that were introduced during 2025 When we look at APAC, also a really strong performance here. when we look at apac also a really strong performance here Growth of more than 10% at reported rates, more than 15% at constant currency. growth of more than 10% at reported rates more than 15% at constant currency Here, the key positives were rising demand from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment sector for our position encoders. here the key positives were rising demand from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment sector for our position encoders Also really good growth, really good demand for our Equator flexible gauge from the consumer electronics subcontract manufacturers. also really good growth really good demand for our equator flexible gauge from the consumer electronics subcontract manufacturers That's the story in APAC. that's the story in apac EMEA is a bit of a different picture here, turnover down around 5% at both reported and constant currency basis. emea is a bit of a different picture here turnover down around 5% at both reported and constant currency basis We've been reporting some subdued demand here in the EMEA region for a little while, and that continued throughout the first part of the half, but we did see a pickup in demand later in the period, and we ended the period with the order book stronger. We also implemented a new sales ERP system in September in some territories, and that did have an impact during the half. But hopefully, you can see from the Q2 versus Q1 performance that we've seen a real step up here in the region. It's actually the biggest step up of all of our regions from Q1-Q2. So we're moving in the right direction there. On an operating profit level, an increase of 11.4% to GBP 57.5 million and an improved operating margin by 0.6 percentage points. We've been reporting some subdued demand here in the EMEA region for a little while, and that continued throughout the first part of the half, but we did see a pickup in demand later in the period, and we ended the period with the order book stronger. we've been reporting some subdued demand here in the emea region for a little while and that continued throughout the first part of the half but we did see a pickup in demand later in the period and we ended the period with the order book stronger We also implemented a new sales ERP system in September in some territories, and that did have an impact during the half. we also implemented a new sales erp system in september in some territories and that did have an impact during the half But hopefully, you can see from the Q2 versus Q1 performance that we've seen a real step up here in the region. but hopefully you can see from the q2 versus q1 performance that we've seen a real step up here in the region It's actually the biggest step up of all of our regions from Q1 - Q2. it's actually the biggest step up of all of our regions from q1 - q2 So we're moving in the right direction there. so we're moving in the right direction there On an operating profit level, an increase of 11.4% to GBP 57.5 million and an improved operating margin by 0.6 percentage points. on an operating profit level an increase of 11.4% to gbp 57.5 million and an improved operating margin by 0.6 percentage points The moving parts there, as Will has touched on, currency in one direction, organic margin improvement in another, more of that in just a moment. But when we look at the income statement, perhaps the most notable thing you'll see is an 8.5% reduction in our gross engineering costs, which reflects some of the cost reduction action that we've taken in the last six months. Sorry, profit before tax grew by a similar amount, 11.5% to 64.1%. Effective tax rate in the period was 21.1% at reported rates rising to 21.8% on an adjusted basis. And that's perhaps more representative of what we expect to see coming through in H2. And then finally, our dividend payment remains unchanged at 16.8 pence. Right, let's take a look at the operating margin evolution. And I'm comparing now the first half of the prior year with the first half of this year. The moving parts there, as Will has touched on, currency in one direction, organic margin improvement in another, more of that in just a moment. the moving parts there as will has touched on currency in one direction organic margin improvement in another more of that in just a moment But when we look at the income statement, perhaps the most notable thing you'll see is an 8.5% reduction in our gross engineering costs, which reflects some of the cost reduction action that we've taken in the last six months. but when we look at the income statement perhaps the most notable thing you'll see is an 8.5% reduction in our gross engineering costs which reflects some of the cost reduction action that we've taken in the last six months Sorry, profit before tax grew by a similar amount, 11.5% to 64.1%. sorry profit before tax grew by a similar amount 11.5% to 64.1% Effective tax rate in the period was 21.1% at reported rates rising to 21.8% on an adjusted basis. effective tax rate in the period was 21.1% at reported rates rising to 21.8% on an adjusted basis And that's perhaps more representative of what we expect to see coming through in H2. and that's perhaps more representative of what we expect to see coming through in h2 And then finally, our dividend payment remains unchanged at 16.8 pence. and then finally our dividend payment remains unchanged at 16.8 pence Right, let's take a look at the operating margin evolution. right let's take a look at the operating margin evolution And I'm comparing now the first half of the prior year with the first half of this year. and i'm comparing now the first half of the prior year with the first half of this year So we're starting with 15.1% that we reported last year. On the left-hand side of this bridge, you can see the external headwinds that we face largely from currency, but then being offset by the organic margin improvement we've generated through cost reduction and operating leverage. Starting with currency, that's been a headwind for us for some years now. We've seen progressive weakening of the US dollar and the Japanese yen against sterling over several years. We are exposed, of course, to this currency fluctuations because many of our costs are in sterling. Most of our revenues are in other currencies. So we seek to manage that through the use of hedging contracts, forward currency contracts over 24 months. Over the last few years, those contracts have done a good job in helping to offset some of the movements we've seen on a year-to-year basis. So we're starting with 15.1% that we reported last year. so we're starting with 15.1% that we reported last year On the left-hand side of this bridge, you can see the external headwinds that we face largely from currency, but then being offset by the organic margin improvement we've generated through cost reduction and operating leverage. on the left-hand side of this bridge you can see the external headwinds that we face largely from currency but then being offset by the organic margin improvement we've generated through cost reduction and operating leverage Starting with currency, that's been a headwind for us for some years now. starting with currency that's been a headwind for us for some years now We've seen progressive weakening of the US dollar and the Japanese yen against sterling over several years. we've seen progressive weakening of the us dollar and the japanese yen against sterling over several years We are exposed, of course, to this currency fluctuations because many of our costs are in sterling. we are exposed of course to this currency fluctuations because many of our costs are in sterling Most of our revenues are in other currencies. most of our revenues are in other currencies So we seek to manage that through the use of hedging contracts, forward currency contracts over 24 months. so we seek to manage that through the use of hedging contracts forward currency contracts over 24 months Over the last few years, those contracts have done a good job in helping to offset some of the movements we've seen on a year-to-year basis. over the last few years those contracts have done a good job in helping to offset some of the movements we've seen on a year-to-year basis Indeed, last year, when we look at the prior year, we saw a particularly strong performance from our contracts. That was as a result of us taking them out at a time when sterling was much weaker than it is today. They paid out handsomely last year. That has not been repeated to the same extent. But when we look at this year, our contracts have still done a good job raising about GBP 5 million of revenue to offset roughly GBP 5.2 million of operating margin change as a result of moving exchange rates. I ndeed, last year, when we look at the prior year, we saw a particularly strong performance from our contracts. i ndeed last year when we look at the prior year we saw a particularly strong performance from our contracts T hat was as a result of us taking them out at a time when sterling was much weaker than it is today. t hat was as a result of us taking them out at a time when sterling was much weaker than it is today T hey paid out handsomely last year. t hey paid out handsomely last year That has not been repeated to the same extent. that has not been repeated to the same extent But when we look at this year, our contracts have still done a good job raising about GBP 5 million of revenue to offset roughly GBP 5.2 million of operating margin change as a result of moving exchange rates. but when we look at this year our contracts have still done a good job raising about gbp 5 million of revenue to offset roughly gbp 5.2 million of operating margin change as a result of moving exchange rates Overall, when we wrap that up, we've got GBP 8 million less in currency income, in contract income, GBP 5.2 million of movement in currency, so GBP 13.2 million, 3.6 percentage points of margin. So a significant headwind. With tariffs, that's impacted our revenues by around 1.4% but had no impact on operating profit. O verall, when we wrap that up, we've got GBP 8 million less in currency income, in contract income, GBP 5.2 million of movement in currency, so GBP 13.2 million, 3.6 percentage points of margin. o verall when we wrap that up we've got gbp 8 million less in currency income in contract income, gbp 5.2 million of movement in currency so gbp 13.2 million 3.6 percentage points of margin So a significant headwind. so a significant headwind With tariffs, that's impacted our revenues by around 1.4% but had no impact on operating profit. with tariffs that's impacted our revenues by around 1.4% but had no impact on operating profit And as a result, has had a small degrading effect on operating margin. Moving to the positive side of the equation, cost reduction, Will's mentioned, we ran two cost reduction programs over the last year, a company-wide operating cost reduction initiative aiming to remove GBP 20 million of cost from our run rate on an annualized basis. And we also closed down the loss-making drug delivery aspect of our neurological business, aiming to save around GBP 3 million on an annualized basis. Pleased to say those savings are starting to come through. The combined impact of those programs has been roughly a 7% headcount reduction for us at a group level to just below 5,000 employees at the end of December. And we've seen GBP 9 million of saving coming through, so 2.4 percentage points in the first half. And as a result, has had a small degrading effect on operating margin. and as a result has had a small degrading effect on operating margin Moving to the positive side of the equation, cost reduction, Will's mentioned, we ran two cost reduction programs over the last year, a company-wide operating cost reduction initiative aiming to remove GBP 20 million of cost from our run rate on an annualized basis. moving to the positive side of the equation cost reduction will's mentioned we ran two cost reduction programs over the last year a company-wide operating cost reduction initiative aiming to remove gbp 20 million of cost from our run rate on an annualized basis And we also closed down the loss-making drug delivery aspect of our neurological business, aiming to save around GBP 3 million on an annualized basis. and we also closed down the loss-making drug delivery aspect of our neurological business aiming to save around gbp 3 million on an annualized basis Pleased to say those savings are starting to come through. pleased to say those savings are starting to come through The combined impact of those programs has been roughly a 7% headcount reduction for us at a group level to just below 5,000 employees at the end of December. the combined impact of those programs has been roughly a 7% headcount reduction for us at a group level to just below 5,000 employees at the end of december And we've seen GBP 9 million of saving coming through, so 2.4 percentage points in the first half. and we've seen gbp 9 million of saving coming through so 2.4 percentage points in the first half We expect to achieve that GBP 23 million of annualised savings on an ongoing basis here forward. So that's coming through as planned. The other side of it has been operating leverage. So we've generated an 11.5% constant currency growth in the period. That has resulted, obviously, in more gross profit, which has more than offset inflationary pressures that we've seen in our cost base around things like pay, benefits, health insurance. All right, so that's the margin story. I'm going to now just walk through each of the three segment performances for you, starting with industrial metrology, our biggest segment. So here the story is solid revenue performance, growth of 4.3% rising to 8.8% on a constant currency basis. The growth drivers here were our emerging systems and software businesses. We expect to achieve that GBP 23 million of annualised savings on an ongoing basis here forward. we expect to achieve that gbp 23 million of annualised savings on an ongoing basis here forward So that's coming through as planned. so that's coming through as planned The other side of it has been operating leverage. the other side of it has been operating leverage So we've generated an 11.5% constant currency growth in the period. so we've generated an 11.5% constant currency growth in the period That has resulted, obviously, in more gross profit, which has more than offset inflationary pressures that we've seen in our cost base around things like pay, benefits, health insurance. that has resulted obviously in more gross profit which has more than offset inflationary pressures that we've seen in our cost base around things like pay benefits health insurance All right, so that's the margin story. all right so that's the margin story I'm going to now just walk through each of the three segment performances for you, starting with industrial metrology, our biggest segment. i'm going to now just walk through each of the three segment performances for you starting with industrial metrology our biggest segment So here the story is solid revenue performance, growth of 4.3% rising to 8.8% on a constant currency basis. so here the story is solid revenue performance growth of 4.3% rising to 8.8% on a constant currency basis The growth drivers here were our emerging systems and software businesses. the growth drivers here were our emerging systems and software businesses So these are our 5-axis coordinate measuring machines, our flexible gauges, and metrology software that supports both of those products and helps users to make the most of them. It's really pleasing to see growth in this area. These are emerging businesses, and we're really targeting top-line growth in here as a key part of our growth strategy. So it's really pleasing to see that coming through. Another success story here is our calibration products. This is an established product line, and we've seen growing demand here, particularly coming from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sector. So those machine builders actually use our calibration products in their factories to help them to make and pass off their machines. So we've seen rising demand coming from there as activity levels have risen. By contrast, we've seen flat sales for the sensor parts of this segment. So these are our 5-axis coordinate measuring machines, our flexible gauges, and metrology software that supports both of those products and helps users to make the most of them. so these are our 5-axis coordinate measuring machines our flexible gauges and metrology software that supports both of those products and helps users to make the most of them It's really pleasing to see growth in this area. it's really pleasing to see growth in this area These are emerging businesses, and we're really targeting top-line growth in here as a key part of our growth strategy. these are emerging businesses and we're really targeting top-line growth in here as a key part of our growth strategy So it's really pleasing to see that coming through. so it's really pleasing to see that coming through Another success story here is our calibration products. another success story here is our calibration products This is an established product line, and we've seen growing demand here, particularly coming from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sector. this is an established product line and we've seen growing demand here particularly coming from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sector So those machine builders actually use our calibration products in their factories to help them to make and pass off their machines. so those machine builders actually use our calibration products in their factories to help them to make and pass off their machines So we've seen rising demand coming from there as activity levels have risen. so we've seen rising demand coming from there as activity levels have risen By contrast, we've seen flat sales for the sensor parts of this segment. by contrast we've seen flat sales for the sensor parts of this segment So that's our coordinate measuring machine, machine tool probes, and also the styli accessories that go with them. So that's been flat overall, some high points in Asia, in consumer electronics, but weaker general demand, particularly in Europe and particularly in the automotive sector. So when we look at the operating performance of this business, it's roughly flat in margin terms. We saw essentially currency headwinds being pretty much offset by the combination of cost saving and operating leverage, but we ended up at pretty much the same operating margin. Let's move on to position measurements, or our other large segment. This did strong growth in the period. So we saw 7.4% rising to more than nearly 12%, sorry, at a constant currency basis. And this was something of a game of two halves. So that's our coordinate measuring machine, machine tool probes, and also the styli accessories that go with them. so that's our coordinate measuring machine machine tool probes and also the styli accessories that go with them So that's been flat overall, some high points in Asia, in consumer electronics, but weaker general demand, particularly in Europe and particularly in the automotive sector. so that's been flat overall some high points in asia in consumer electronics but weaker general demand particularly in europe and particularly in the automotive sector So when we look at the operating performance of this business, it's roughly flat in margin terms. so when we look at the operating performance of this business it's roughly flat in margin terms We saw essentially currency headwinds being pretty much offset by the combination of cost saving and operating leverage, but we ended up at pretty much the same operating margin. we saw essentially currency headwinds being pretty much offset by the combination of cost saving and operating leverage but we ended up at pretty much the same operating margin Let's move on to position measurements, or our other large segment. let's move on to position measurements or our other large segment This did strong growth in the period. this did strong growth in the period So we saw 7.4% rising to more than nearly 12%, sorry, at a constant currency basis. so we saw 7.4% rising to more than nearly 12% sorry at a constant currency basis And this was something of a game of two halves. and this was something of a game of two halves We definitely saw a really notable pickup in this business in the second quarter, and we've got great momentum going into the second half. The drivers of growth here were strong performances from our established open optical and magnetic encoder businesses. We've mentioned semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment. That's been a key driver. But actually, we've also seen strong demand from general factory automation and robotics, particularly for the magnetic encoder line. By contrast, laser encoders have seen a reduction compared to a really abnormally strong period in the prior year. These are used in front-end semi in wafer inspection. And yeah, we had an abnormally strong comparator to go against. But we're actually really confident in the long-term future of this business. We think this is volatility rather than a trend. We've seen a rising order book, and we've launched new products in this area. We definitely saw a really notable pickup in this business in the second quarter, and we've got great momentum going into the second half. we definitely saw a really notable pickup in this business in the second quarter and we've got great momentum going into the second half The drivers of growth here were strong performances from our established open optical and magnetic encoder businesses. the drivers of growth here were strong performances from our established open optical and magnetic encoder businesses We've mentioned semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment. we've mentioned semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment That's been a key driver. that's been a key driver But actually, we've also seen strong demand from general factory automation and robotics, particularly for the magnetic encoder line. but actually we've also seen strong demand from general factory automation and robotics particularly for the magnetic encoder line By contrast, laser encoders have seen a reduction compared to a really abnormally strong period in the prior year. by contrast laser encoders have seen a reduction compared to a really abnormally strong period in the prior year These are used in front-end semi in wafer inspection. these are used in front-end semi in wafer inspection And yeah, we had an abnormally strong comparator to go against. and yeah we had an abnormally strong comparator to go against But we're actually really confident in the long-term future of this business. but we're actually really confident in the long-term future of this business We think this is volatility rather than a trend. we think this is volatility rather than a trend We've seen a rising order book, and we've launched new products in this area. we've seen a rising order book and we've launched new products in this area So we're really confident about the long-term prospects. When we look at operating performance, we've seen similar effects that we saw in the metrology business. So currency headwinds offset by cost savings to an extent. But here, the product mix change has been quite significant in this period comparator. So we've reduced by about 4 percentage points but to 23.4%. So still a strong operating performance here. And I think the more meaningful comparison to take is if you look at the comparison against the whole of last year, which was 22.5%. So the first half really was a bit of an abnormal period. So we've got good momentum here, good top-line growth, and improving underlying margins. Finally, specialized tech. So the smaller segment but the one that's grown the fastest in this period. So growth of more than 25% at a constant currency basis. So really strong growth. So we're really confident about the long-term prospects. so we're really confident about the long-term prospects When we look at operating performance, we've seen similar effects that we saw in the metrology business. when we look at operating performance we've seen similar effects that we saw in the metrology business So currency headwinds offset by cost savings to an extent. so currency headwinds offset by cost savings to an extent But here, the product mix change has been quite significant in this period comparator. but here the product mix change has been quite significant in this period comparator So we've reduced by about 4 percentage points but to 23.4%. so we've reduced by about 4 percentage points but to 23.4% So still a strong operating performance here. so still a strong operating performance here And I think the more meaningful comparison to take is if you look at the comparison against the whole of last year, which was 22.5%. and i think the more meaningful comparison to take is if you look at the comparison against the whole of last year which was 22.5% So the first half really was a bit of an abnormal period. so the first half really was a bit of an abnormal period So we've got good momentum here, good top-line growth, and improving underlying margins. so we've got good momentum here good top-line growth and improving underlying margins Finally, specialized tech. finally specialized tech So the smaller segment but the one that's grown the fastest in this period. so the smaller segment but the one that's grown the fastest in this period So growth of more than 25% at a constant currency basis. so growth of more than 25% at a constant currency basis So really strong growth. so really strong growth That has been almost largely coming from our additive manufacturing business within here. So we have a strategy here of selling to key accounts, and we've seen many of those adding to their fleet of machines as they ramp up production. But we're also targeting new customers, and we've seen quite a lot of those coming in in this period. We've seen particularly strong demand from both new and existing customers in the aerospace and defense sector. That's been the notable change in demand in the period. Spectroscopy down slightly. Slightly stronger in Americas, slightly weaker elsewhere. But we've seen good order momentum on that recently. Normally has a stronger H2. So looking forward to that this year. And in neurosurgical, that's the smallest part of this product group. That has been almost largely coming from our additive manufacturing business within here. that has been almost largely coming from our additive manufacturing business within here So we have a strategy here of selling to key accounts, and we've seen many of those adding to their fleet of machines as they ramp up production. so we have a strategy here of selling to key accounts and we've seen many of those adding to their fleet of machines as they ramp up production But we're also targeting new customers, and we've seen quite a lot of those coming in in this period. but we're also targeting new customers and we've seen quite a lot of those coming in in this period We've seen particularly strong demand from both new and existing customers in the aerospace and defense sector. we've seen particularly strong demand from both new and existing customers in the aerospace and defense sector That's been the notable change in demand in the period. that's been the notable change in demand in the period Spectroscopy down slightly. spectroscopy down slightly Slightly stronger in Americas, slightly weaker elsewhere. slightly stronger in americas slightly weaker elsewhere But we've seen good order momentum on that recently. but we've seen good order momentum on that recently Normally has a stronger H2. normally has a stronger h2 So looking forward to that this year. so looking forward to that this year And in neurosurgical, that's the smallest part of this product group. and in neurosurgical that's the smallest part of this product group The key sort of thing here is that we completed the closure of the loss-making drug delivery aspect in the period. So when we wrap all of that up and look at the moving parts on margin, we can see a real step change in performance here, 22 percentage points of margin improvement. We're now just short of break-even on this segment. The moving parts there, yep, currency again, slightly less proportionately than the others because of slightly different regional sales patterns. We've seen cost reduction, obviously, coming through with both the company-wide program and the focused drug delivery activity. But the large majority of the margin improvement coming through here is from operating leverage with the growing AM business. So that's been the key driver of margin improvement. Right, lastly from me, just a quick look at return on capital and cash generation. The key sort of thing here is that we completed the closure of the loss-making drug delivery aspect in the period. the key sort of thing here is that we completed the closure of the loss-making drug delivery aspect in the period So when we wrap all of that up and look at the moving parts on margin, we can see a real step change in performance here, 22 percentage points of margin improvement. so when we wrap all of that up and look at the moving parts on margin we can see a real step change in performance here 22 percentage points of margin improvement We're now just short of break-even on this segment. we're now just short of break-even on this segment The moving parts there, yep, currency again, slightly less proportionately than the others because of slightly different regional sales patterns. the moving parts there yep currency again slightly less proportionately than the others because of slightly different regional sales patterns We've seen cost reduction, obviously, coming through with both the company-wide program and the focused drug delivery activity. we've seen cost reduction obviously coming through with both the company-wide program and the focused drug delivery activity But the large majority of the margin improvement coming through here is from operating leverage with the growing AM business. but the large majority of the margin improvement coming through here is from operating leverage with the growing am business So that's been the key driver of margin improvement. so that's been the key driver of margin improvement Right, lastly from me, just a quick look at return on capital and cash generation. right lastly from me just a quick look at return on capital and cash generation We focus on return on invested capital to make sure that we're allocating resources to profitable investments. We saw an improvement here to 13.2%, so 0.6 percentage points. We have a target of 15%. Clearly, we have some way to go. The way we're going to get there is by driving our operating margins but up to our target range and also keeping a lid on investment in capital. We have had a period of higher investment in recent years in property. That's now behind us, and we're operating at a lower level of CapEx. In the first half, CapEx was GBP 17 million, and we're expecting to run at a rate of about GBP 40 million for the year as a whole. That's focused mainly on plant and equipment to support capacity and productivity growth. That's part of the cash generation story. We focus on return on invested capital to make sure that we're allocating resources to profitable investments. we focus on return on invested capital to make sure that we're allocating resources to profitable investments We saw an improvement here to 13.2%, so 0.6 percentage points. we saw an improvement here to 13.2% so 0.6 percentage points We have a target of 15%. we have a target of 15% Clearly, we have some way to go. clearly we have some way to go The way we're going to get there is by driving our operating margins but up to our target range and also keeping a lid on investment in capital. the way we're going to get there is by driving our operating margins but up to our target range and also keeping a lid on investment in capital We have had a period of higher investment in recent years in property. we have had a period of higher investment in recent years in property That's now behind us, and we're operating at a lower level of CapEx. that's now behind us and we're operating at a lower level of capex In the first half, CapEx was GBP 17 million, and we're expecting to run at a rate of about GBP 40 million for the year as a whole. in the first half capex was gbp 17 million and we're expecting to run at a rate of about gbp 40 million for the year as a whole That's focused mainly on plant and equipment to support capacity and productivity growth. that's focused mainly on plant and equipment to support capacity and productivity growth That's part of the cash generation story. that's part of the cash generation story The other side is working capital. We have ramped up working capital in the period. Obviously, we've seen a bit of an inflection in demand in Q2. And so that's triggered us, obviously, to increase our production rate, drawing in more piece parts, more work in progress, etc. So we've seen that during the period. So our cash conversion overall, just below our target at 68%. But we think we're doing all the right things here in terms of keeping a lid on CapEx and making sure we're supporting growth with our balance sheet. The other side is working capital. the other side is working capital We have ramped up working capital in the period. we have ramped up working capital in the period Obviously, we've seen a bit of an inflection in demand in Q2. obviously we've seen a bit of an inflection in demand in q2 And so that's triggered us, obviously, to increase our production rate, drawing in more piece parts, more work in progress, etc. So we've seen that during the period. and so that's triggered us obviously to increase our production rate drawing in more piece parts more work in progress etc so we've seen that during the period So our cash conversion overall, just below our target at 68%. so our cash conversion overall just below our target at 68% But we think we're doing all the right things here in terms of keeping a lid on CapEx and making sure we're supporting growth with our balance sheet. but we think we're doing all the right things here in terms of keeping a lid on capex and making sure we're supporting growth with our balance sheet Finally, our cash balances, currently just over GBP 240 million at the end of the period, so down compared to the summer. And this reflects the outflows that we've seen on the cost reduction activities, on working capital, and on the dividend payment in respect of H2 last year. All right, I think that's enough from me. Finally, our cash balances, currently just over GBP 240 million at the end of the period, so down compared to the summer. finally our cash balances currently just over gbp 240 million at the end of the period so down compared to the summer And this reflects the outflows that we've seen on the cost reduction activities, on working capital, and on the dividend payment in respect of H2 last year. and this reflects the outflows that we've seen on the cost reduction activities on working capital and on the dividend payment in respect of h2 last year All right, I think that's enough from me. all right i think that's enough from me I'll hand back to Will. I'll hand back to Will. i'll hand back to will

Speaker 9: Lovely. Thank you very much, Mark. So as I said, I'd like to now talk through some of our strategic priorities and a little bit of a look more into the future. I'm going to focus on the first three of these because I think the cash generation and ROIC we have already touched on. So the first area here is the key strategy for us, which we've always talked about, of long-term growth through product innovation. It's our key overriding strategy. To set the scene for this, I just want to reflect back, firstly, on our long-term value creation model, something we've shared and many of you will be familiar with. Lovely. lovely Thank you very much, Mark. thank you very much mark So as I said, I'd like to now talk through some of our strategic priorities and a little bit of a look more into the future. so as i said i'd like to now talk through some of our strategic priorities and a little bit of a look more into the future I'm going to focus on the first three of these because I think the cash generation and ROIC we have already touched on. i'm going to focus on the first three of these because i think the cash generation and roic we have already touched on So the first area here is the key strategy for us, which we've always talked about, of long-term growth through product innovation. so the first area here is the key strategy for us which we've always talked about of long-term growth through product innovation It's our key overriding strategy. it's our key overriding strategy To set the scene for this, I just want to reflect back, firstly, on our long-term value creation model, something we've shared and many of you will be familiar with. to set the scene for this i just want to reflect back firstly on our long-term value creation model something we've shared and many of you will be familiar with Just to go through, if we look on the left here, then we can see that the markets that we operate in, that GBP 6 billion addressable market, and really most importantly, the fact that they are favorable markets that we think, on average, are growing by more than 5% a year. You can see the drivers in the 4 boxes around the addressable market. What we've seen recently probably is acceleration here, all the news on AI and the data centers there. Really feels like it's accelerating the growth from the electrification area there. We are certainly seeing, I think, continued acceleration of our customers also looking at the adoption of automation and so how to automate processes right across from machining to metrology, a range of things there. Just to go through, if we look on the left here, then we can see that the markets that we operate in, that GBP 6 billion addressable market, and really most importantly, the fact that they are favorable markets that we think, on average, are growing by more than 5% a year. just to go through if we look on the left here then we can see that the markets that we operate in that gbp 6 billion addressable market and really most importantly the fact that they are favorable markets that we think on average are growing by more than 5% a year You can see the drivers in the 4 boxes around the addressable market. you can see the drivers in the 4 boxes around the addressable market What we've seen recently probably is acceleration here, all the news on AI and the data centers there. what we've seen recently probably is acceleration here all the news on ai and the data centers there Really feels like it's accelerating the growth from the electrification area there. really feels like it's accelerating the growth from the electrification area there We are certainly seeing, I think, continued acceleration of our customers also looking at the adoption of automation and so how to automate processes right across from machining to metrology, a range of things there. we are certainly seeing i think continued acceleration of our customers also looking at the adoption of automation and so how to automate processes right across from machining to metrology a range of things there We're also seeing probably a broader one, which maybe cuts across slightly differently with all these of the expenditure on defense. It's really how do we help customers there with their manufacturing agility, ramp-ups, new technologies to go in there. So positive, some changes going on there from our market. The key bit for us then is how do we outperform. On the top right, you can see those key three themes. The first is growing in existing markets. This is how do we sell more sensor technology normally to the machine tool, the machine builders around the world, whether that's semiconductor or machine tool. And we'll often talk about this in terms of the number of dollars we get per machine tool spindle sold for the machine tool industry, for example. We're also seeing probably a broader one, which maybe cuts across slightly differently with all these of the expenditure on defense. we're also seeing probably a broader one which maybe cuts across slightly differently with all these of the expenditure on defense It's really how do we help customers there with their manufacturing agility, ramp-ups, new technologies to go in there. it's really how do we help customers there with their manufacturing agility ramp-ups new technologies to go in there So positive, some changes going on there from our market. so positive some changes going on there from our market The key bit for us then is how do we outperform. the key bit for us then is how do we outperform On the top right, you can see those key three themes. on the top right you can see those key three themes The first is growing in existing markets. the first is growing in existing markets This is how do we sell more sensor technology normally to the machine tool, the machine builders around the world, whether that's semiconductor or machine tool. this is how do we sell more sensor technology normally to the machine tool the machine builders around the world whether that's semiconductor or machine tool And we'll often talk about this in terms of the number of dollars we get per machine tool spindle sold for the machine tool industry, for example. and we'll often talk about this in terms of the number of dollars we get per machine tool spindle sold for the machine tool industry for example Next, increasing technology value is about us selling the increasingly complicated systems, so capital goods together with the software to enable them. Then thirdly is looking in terms of moving into new markets. To be clear, this is very close-adjacent new markets to where we already operate. With all of these, the innovation side being disruptive, having the USPs is absolutely key for us to succeed and give our sales teams around the world the strongest advantage that we can. I'm really pleased that actually, despite reducing engineering expenditure, what we are seeing is a really strong pipeline of products that we have recently launched. Also, we've got a really healthy pipeline of products to come through for the future. I just want to highlight a few that I think are really key for our strategy and for our success. Next, increasing technology value is about us selling the increasingly complicated systems, so capital goods together with the software to enable them. next increasing technology value is about us selling the increasingly complicated systems so capital goods together with the software to enable them Then thirdly is looking in terms of moving into new markets. then thirdly is looking in terms of moving into new markets To be clear, this is very close-adjacent new markets to where we already operate. to be clear this is very close-adjacent new markets to where we already operate With all of these, the innovation side being disruptive, having the USPs is absolutely key for us to succeed and give our sales teams around the world the strongest advantage that we can. with all of these the innovation side being disruptive having the usps is absolutely key for us to succeed and give our sales teams around the world the strongest advantage that we can I'm really pleased that actually, despite reducing engineering expenditure, what we are seeing is a really strong pipeline of products that we have recently launched. i'm really pleased that actually despite reducing engineering expenditure what we are seeing is a really strong pipeline of products that we have recently launched Also, we've got a really healthy pipeline of products to come through for the future. also we've got a really healthy pipeline of products to come through for the future I just want to highlight a few that I think are really key for our strategy and for our success. i just want to highlight a few that i think are really key for our strategy and for our success So if we first will look at industrial metrology, we've had a really strong reception for the Equator-X and MODUS IM Equator software that goes with it. Equator-X brings very high-speed measurement to the shop floor, and it does it without the need for a master part to compare with. So our customers immediately get the benefit that it brings. The real enabler with it is the software, which dramatically de-skills the level of knowledge needed to be able to program the device. So what we have with the combination of these two is amazing performance on the shop floor, metrology where you need it at the point of manufacture, and also far simpler for our customers to deploy, and far more flexible in terms of the range of different parts that they can measure. This is really key for us. So if we first will look at industrial metrology, we've had a really strong reception for the Equator- X and MODUS IM Equator software that goes with it. so if we first will look at industrial metrology we've had a really strong reception for the equator- x and modus im equator software that goes with it Equator- X brings very high-speed measurement to the shop floor, and it does it without the need for a master part to compare with. equator- x brings very high-speed measurement to the shop floor and it does it without the need for a master part to compare with So our customers immediately get the benefit that it brings. so our customers immediately get the benefit that it brings The real enabler with it is the software, which dramatically de-skills the level of knowledge needed to be able to program the device. the real enabler with it is the software which dramatically de-skills the level of knowledge needed to be able to program the device So what we have with the combination of these two is amazing performance on the shop floor, metrology where you need it at the point of manufacture, and also far simpler for our customers to deploy, and far more flexible in terms of the range of different parts that they can measure. so what we have with the combination of these two is amazing performance on the shop floor metrology where you need it at the point of manufacture and also far simpler for our customers to deploy and far more flexible in terms of the range of different parts that they can measure This is really key for us. this is really key for us You can see there's excitement from our existing sales team all around the world and what they can do, the customers that liked our existing products but need this. But there's also excitement in terms of the new routes to market that we can open up. So people who are selling already a machining and manufacturing solution where this can be a part of it, they can own it, they can sell it. So a lot going on there and a lot to do. From position measurement, Mark talked earlier about with our laser encoder product line being sold into wafer inspection. The great thing here, this is always a market where the challenges of the next generation of wafer technology are getting smaller. These customers always have really tough metrology challenges. You can see there's excitement from our existing sales team all around the world and what they can do, the customers that liked our existing products but need this. you can see there's excitement from our existing sales team all around the world and what they can do the customers that liked our existing products but need this But there's also excitement in terms of the new routes to market that we can open up. but there's also excitement in terms of the new routes to market that we can open up So people who are selling already a machining and manufacturing solution where this can be a part of it, they can own it, they can sell it. so people who are selling already a machining and manufacturing solution where this can be a part of it they can own it they can sell it So a lot going on there and a lot to do. so a lot going on there and a lot to do From position measurement, Mark talked earlier about with our laser encoder product line being sold into wafer inspection. from position measurement mark talked earlier about with our laser encoder product line being sold into wafer inspection The great thing here, this is always a market where the challenges of the next generation of wafer technology are getting smaller. the great thing here this is always a market where the challenges of the next generation of wafer technology are getting smaller These customers always have really tough metrology challenges. these customers always have really tough metrology challenges We've really stepped forward with our next generation of laser encoder in terms of the performance that we are now giving to those customers. Again, had the chance to meet some of them recently. Really positive on the relationship that we have with them. ASTRiA, we have talked about. So this is actually a new area for us using inductive. Again, it's been really well received by the market in terms of the metrology performance that it delivers. And then finally, from a specialized technology point of view, Strada is our new Raman instrument. Raman, traditionally, is an instrument used for the Raman expert in the Raman lab who will do things. Strada is designed to simplify. It automates the Raman process from a hardware, dramatically simplifies the software. So it's Raman for the non-Raman person. We've really stepped forward with our next generation of laser encoder in terms of the performance that we are now giving to those customers. we've really stepped forward with our next generation of laser encoder in terms of the performance that we are now giving to those customers Again, had the chance to meet some of them recently. again had the chance to meet some of them recently Really positive on the relationship that we have with them. really positive on the relationship that we have with them ASTRiA, we have talked about. astria we have talked about So this is actually a new area for us using inductive. so this is actually a new area for us using inductive Again, it's been really well received by the market in terms of the metrology performance that it delivers. again it's been really well received by the market in terms of the metrology performance that it delivers And then finally, from a specialized technology point of view, Strada is our new Raman instrument. and then finally from a specialized technology point of view strada is our new raman instrument Raman, traditionally, is an instrument used for the Raman expert in the Raman lab who will do things. raman traditionally is an instrument used for the raman expert in the raman lab who will do things Strada is designed to simplify. strada is designed to simplify It automates the Raman process from a hardware, dramatically simplifies the software. it automates the raman process from a hardware dramatically simplifies the software So it's Raman for the non-Raman person. so it's raman for the non-raman person So if you want to solve a problem, you can do it with this. You don't need to know anything about the technology that is inside. So this has opened up different opportunities, different markets for us with Raman. And finally, LIBERTAS is new software that we have launched to go with our additive manufacturing business. So what this does is when you are making a part additively, you have to put in supports to hold it in place. And what LIBERTAS does is by doing very clever novel scanning strategies, dramatically reduces the number of supports that you need. So what this does is it speeds up the cycle time. You don't have to build these supports. You save time. You save waste because you're not processing the material. And you also save post-processing time because there's a lot less than of support material to remove after the build. So if you want to solve a problem, you can do it with this. so if you want to solve a problem you can do it with this You don't need to know anything about the technology that is inside. you don't need to know anything about the technology that is inside So this has opened up different opportunities, different markets for us with Raman. so this has opened up different opportunities different markets for us with raman And finally, LIBERTAS is new software that we have launched to go with our additive manufacturing business. and finally libertas is new software that we have launched to go with our additive manufacturing business So what this does is when you are making a part additively, you have to put in supports to hold it in place. so what this does is when you are making a part additively you have to put in supports to hold it in place And what LIBERTAS does is by doing very clever novel scanning strategies, dramatically reduces the number of supports that you need. and what libertas does is by doing very clever novel scanning strategies dramatically reduces the number of supports that you need So what this does is it speeds up the cycle time. so what this does is it speeds up the cycle time You don't have to build these supports. you don't have to build these supports You save time. you save time You save waste because you're not processing the material. you save waste because you're not processing the material And you also save post-processing time because there's a lot less than of support material to remove after the build. and you also save post-processing time because there's a lot less than of support material to remove after the build So it's pushing forward the productivity of our machine for our customers. What it also does, actually, is really improve. The tricky surface on the additive part is the bottom. And the surface finish of that with our new software is really noticeably moved and a step change of performance there. This was really well received by a number of our customers. So a strong, healthy product launch is there. Much more to come in the future. So while we absolutely see that our future is the growth, what we've been clear on and talked to you about is making sure that the business is as focused and as lean as it can be to support that growth. So it's pushing forward the productivity of our machine for our customers. so it's pushing forward the productivity of our machine for our customers What it also does, actually, is really improve. what it also does actually is really improve The tricky surface on the additive part is the bottom. the tricky surface on the additive part is the bottom And the surface finish of that with our new software is really noticeably moved and a step change of performance there. and the surface finish of that with our new software is really noticeably moved and a step change of performance there This was really well received by a number of our customers. this was really well received by a number of our customers So a strong, healthy product launch is there. so a strong healthy product launch is there Much more to come in the future. much more to come in the future So while we absolutely see that our future is the growth, what we've been clear on and talked to you about is making sure that the business is as focused and as lean as it can be to support that growth. so while we absolutely see that our future is the growth what we've been clear on and talked to you about is making sure that the business is as focused and as lean as it can be to support that growth If we look at the initiatives that we have going forward, then in terms of this graph, you can see that, I guess, Mark earlier brought us up in terms of the 15.7% that we end up with this half year now that we've just announced on. For the rest of this year, we still see continuing to have some currency headwinds, some benefit from the cost reduction program, and then actually the flow through of the margin from the revenue development taking us up to our end-of-year results. The interesting bit really is going forward. We've set ourselves targets on this. Some of that will be achieved by the revenue flow in the future of looking at the growth strategy, that innovation-led growth strategy. But the other bit is then the development on productivity across the group. We're in early stages on this. If we look at the initiatives that we have going forward, then in terms of this graph, you can see that, I guess, Mark earlier brought us up in terms of the 15.7% that we end up with this half year now that we've just announced on. if we look at the initiatives that we have going forward then in terms of this graph you can see that i guess mark earlier brought us up in terms of the 15.7% that we end up with this half year now that we've just announced on For the rest of this year, we still see continuing to have some currency headwinds, some benefit from the cost reduction program, and then actually the flow through of the margin from the revenue development taking us up to our end-of-year results. for the rest of this year we still see continuing to have some currency headwinds some benefit from the cost reduction program and then actually the flow through of the margin from the revenue development taking us up to our end-of-year results The interesting bit really is going forward. the interesting bit really is going forward We've set ourselves targets on this. we've set ourselves targets on this Some of that will be achieved by the revenue flow in the future of looking at the growth strategy, that innovation-led growth strategy. some of that will be achieved by the revenue flow in the future of looking at the growth strategy that innovation-led growth strategy But the other bit is then the development on productivity across the group. but the other bit is then the development on productivity across the group We're in early stages on this. we're in early stages on this I guess we've already done some activities, which we've talked about. We are very much now in the planning stage of what are the best opportunities that we have as a business, going through that and then working on the program to deploy that. So when we're back up here for Capital Markets Day in June, it's going to be a great chance to update you in more detail on those plans and what we intend to do. And thirdly, I want to spend a little bit of time on the emerging businesses. As I highlighted at the start, I think overall, this is the bit that is the most encouraging for me with the developments that we have seen here. So right across the board on our different reporting segments, we have emerging businesses. I guess we've already done some activities, which we've talked about. i guess we've already done some activities which we've talked about We are very much now in the planning stage of what are the best opportunities that we have as a business, going through that and then working on the program to deploy that. we are very much now in the planning stage of what are the best opportunities that we have as a business going through that and then working on the program to deploy that So when we're back up here for Capital Markets Day in June, it's going to be a great chance to update you in more detail on those plans and what we intend to do. so when we're back up here for capital markets day in june it's going to be a great chance to update you in more detail on those plans and what we intend to do And thirdly, I want to spend a little bit of time on the emerging businesses. and thirdly i want to spend a little bit of time on the emerging businesses As I highlighted at the start, I think overall, this is the bit that is the most encouraging for me with the developments that we have seen here. as i highlighted at the start i think overall this is the bit that is the most encouraging for me with the developments that we have seen here So right across the board on our different reporting segments, we have emerging businesses. so right across the board on our different reporting segments we have emerging businesses What we have looked at here over the last several years is quite a bit of work and focus on these areas. And you'll have seen if you've been monitoring for a while that some of these businesses are ones that we have divested or closed. Some of them are ones that we've had for a while, but we've made quite significant strategic changes on them. And those ones I would classify as the metrology, CMM gauging systems, and additive manufacturing have both had, and in some respects, quite a similar of really focusing down, understanding what our differentiators are, targeting key customers, and making sure we are very clear what we are about. And it's been great to see both of them really starting to do well. What we have looked at here over the last several years is quite a bit of work and focus on these areas. what we have looked at here over the last several years is quite a bit of work and focus on these areas And you'll have seen if you've been monitoring for a while that some of these businesses are ones that we have divested or closed. and you'll have seen if you've been monitoring for a while that some of these businesses are ones that we have divested or closed Some of them are ones that we've had for a while, but we've made quite significant strategic changes on them. some of them are ones that we've had for a while but we've made quite significant strategic changes on them And those ones I would classify as the metrology, CMM gauging systems, and additive manufacturing have both had, and in some respects, quite a similar of really focusing down, understanding what our differentiators are, targeting key customers, and making sure we are very clear what we are about. and those ones i would classify as the metrology cmm gauging systems and additive manufacturing have both had and in some respects quite a similar of really focusing down understanding what our differentiators are targeting key customers and making sure we are very clear what we are about And it's been great to see both of them really starting to do well. and it's been great to see both of them really starting to do well Additive, in particular, this time, that strategy of focusing on customers with volume opportunity, focusing on a highly productive single-size machine is really starting to pay dividends. And what we're now seeing is there's repeat orders coming through, both from actually the customers that we've talked about in the past, whether that's often medical that we talk about, but is really also being accelerated now with interest and customers in defense understanding the opportunities that additive gives for them. Now, what we also did when we exited from some of the business that we didn't feel were going to meet the criteria for what we wanted for the long term for the business was we did pick out some of the best areas of innovation that we felt we had across the group and tried to accelerate those. Additive, in particular, this time, that strategy of focusing on customers with volume opportunity, focusing on a highly productive single-size machine is really starting to pay dividends. additive in particular this time that strategy of focusing on customers with volume opportunity focusing on a highly productive single-size machine is really starting to pay dividends And what we're now seeing is there's repeat orders coming through, both from actually the customers that we've talked about in the past, whether that's often medical that we talk about, but is really also being accelerated now with interest and customers in defense understanding the opportunities that additive gives for them. and what we're now seeing is there's repeat orders coming through both from actually the customers that we've talked about in the past whether that's often medical that we talk about but is really also being accelerated now with interest and customers in defense understanding the opportunities that additive gives for them Now, what we also did when we exited from some of the business that we didn't feel were going to meet the criteria for what we wanted for the long term for the business was we did pick out some of the best areas of innovation that we felt we had across the group and tried to accelerate those. now what we also did when we exited from some of the business that we didn't feel were going to meet the criteria for what we wanted for the long term for the business was we did pick out some of the best areas of innovation that we felt we had across the group and tried to accelerate those As Mark talked about when he was talking about the position measurement, both enclosed optical encoders really starting to go well. But I think that for me, the star here is definitely on the inductive encoders, FORTiS. I talked about it in the innovation. We've launched this as our MVP of saying, "We're just going to do one size. We're going to get it out. We're going to really hit the deadlines." The team did a fantastic job of doing it. The feedback from customers, the metrology is superb. The ease of use is superb. And now we have customers saying that they really want to switch over to our technology, design us in on existing platforms, design us in on new platforms. Now, this is designed for a broad range of industries. As Mark talked about when he was talking about the position measurement, both enclosed optical encoders really starting to go well. as mark talked about when he was talking about the position measurement both enclosed optical encoders really starting to go well But I think that for me, the star here is definitely on the inductive encoders, FORTiS. but i think that for me the star here is definitely on the inductive encoders fortis I talked about it in the innovation. i talked about it in the innovation We've launched this as our MVP of saying, "We're just going to do one size. we've launched this as our mvp of saying "we're just going to do one size We're going to get it out. we're going to get it out We're going to really hit the deadlines." The team did a fantastic job of doing it. we're going to really hit the deadlines." the team did a fantastic job of doing it The feedback from customers, the metrology is superb. the feedback from customers the metrology is superb The ease of use is superb. the ease of use is superb And now we have customers saying that they really want to switch over to our technology, design us in on existing platforms, design us in on new platforms. and now we have customers saying that they really want to switch over to our technology design us in on existing platforms design us in on new platforms Now, this is designed for a broad range of industries. now this is designed for a broad range of industries The one at the moment where it feels like it's hitting the sweet spot is on the defense industry. We have actually recently made the decision that we need to invest more from an engineering and a manufacturing point of view to make the most of the immediate opportunities that we have here. These businesses all take time to come through, but this is one that feels like it is working at a different pace to what we are used to. Really important for us, and when we're talking through with the team internally, moving these emerging businesses through into established is key. We have a lot of exciting R&D going on for the future, some of which is going to power existing businesses, but some of it is the new emerging businesses of the future. The one at the moment where it feels like it's hitting the sweet spot is on the defense industry. the one at the moment where it feels like it's hitting the sweet spot is on the defense industry We have actually recently made the decision that we need to invest more from an engineering and a manufacturing point of view to make the most of the immediate opportunities that we have here. we have actually recently made the decision that we need to invest more from an engineering and a manufacturing point of view to make the most of the immediate opportunities that we have here These businesses all take time to come through, but this is one that feels like it is working at a different pace to what we are used to. these businesses all take time to come through but this is one that feels like it is working at a different pace to what we are used to Really important for us, and when we're talking through with the team internally, moving these emerging businesses through into established is key. really important for us and when we're talking through with the team internally moving these emerging businesses through into established is key We have a lot of exciting R&D going on for the future, some of which is going to power existing businesses, but some of it is the new emerging businesses of the future. we have a lot of exciting r&d going on for the future some of which is going to power existing businesses but some of it is the new emerging businesses of the future So we need to make space for it to come through so we can invest in it by migrating some of these at the moment. So lots of positivity going forward. With us, there's always the uncertainty in the markets that we operate in, but we certainly feel like we have momentum going into H2. And I'm really pleased to give a positive revenue and profit trading guidance for the year ahead. Thank you very much. We now have time for Q&A, which is great to be doing in person. So we need to make space for it to come through so we can invest in it by migrating some of these at the moment. so we need to make space for it to come through so we can invest in it by migrating some of these at the moment So lots of positivity going forward. so lots of positivity going forward With us, there's always the uncertainty in the markets that we operate in, but we certainly feel like we have momentum going into H2. with us there's always the uncertainty in the markets that we operate in but we certainly feel like we have momentum going into h2 And I'm really pleased to give a positive revenue and profit trading guidance for the year ahead. and i'm really pleased to give a positive revenue and profit trading guidance for the year ahead Thank you very much. thank you very much We now have time for Q & A, which is great to be doing in person. we now have time for q & a which is great to be doing in person

Speaker 4: Thank you. Thanks, Will, Mark. Lacie Midgley here, Bloomberg Intelligence. Just a couple from me. First, I guess on the China strategy at the full year, we talked a little bit about the entry-level market there, perhaps kind of looking at lower-priced alternatives to some of your core products. I know we're not quite far on from the full year in that discussion, but is there any update on the strategy there and how that's evolved and any progress you can update us on? Thank you. thank you Thanks, Will, Mark. thanks will mark Lacie Midgley here, Bloomberg Intelligence. lacie midgley here bloomberg intelligence Just a couple from me. just a couple from me First, I guess on the China strategy at the full year, we talked a little bit about the entry-level market there, perhaps kind of looking at lower-priced alternatives to some of your core products. first i guess on the china strategy at the full year we talked a little bit about the entry-level market there perhaps kind of looking at lower-priced alternatives to some of your core products I know we're not quite far on from the full year in that discussion, but is there any update on the strategy there and how that's evolved and any progress you can update us on? i know we're not quite far on from the full year in that discussion but is there any update on the strategy there and how that's evolved and any progress you can update us on

Speaker 9: Yeah, certainly. So I think I'm just trying to think back to exactly what we said at full year. But certainly, what we are looking at now is we have certain products which are established, but we can tweak and adjust so that they are limited in performance for an entry-level China market, so we can targetedly go after business at a lower price to the customer. We're doing that in quite a limited way and testing things out. So that's very specific. We're also getting the innovation engine. And it's interesting here, particularly probably on some of the more sensor technology side of the business, the innovation engine has come up with some really good ideas on stripping manufacturing cost and simple designs, particularly encoders. Yeah, certainly. yeah certainly So I think I'm just trying to think back to exactly what we said at full year. so i think i'm just trying to think back to exactly what we said at full year But certainly, what we are looking at now is we have certain products which are established, but we can tweak and adjust so that they are limited in performance for an entry-level China market, so we can targetedly go after business at a lower price to the customer. but certainly what we are looking at now is we have certain products which are established but we can tweak and adjust so that they are limited in performance for an entry-level china market so we can targetedly go after business at a lower price to the customer We're doing that in quite a limited way and testing things out. we're doing that in quite a limited way and testing things out So that's very specific. so that's very specific We're also getting the innovation engine. we're also getting the innovation engine And it's interesting here, particularly probably on some of the more sensor technology side of the business, the innovation engine has come up with some really good ideas on stripping manufacturing cost and simple designs, particularly encoders. and it's interesting here particularly probably on some of the more sensor technology side of the business the innovation engine has come up with some really good ideas on stripping manufacturing cost and simple designs particularly encoders There's some really quite exciting stuff for the future coming through that allows us to target the entry-level market at a different price point. Now, people always worry about this in terms of what does that mean in terms of threat of the different areas. But actually, this is stuff which is designed such that it's only suitable for entry-level. What we always see in things like the encoder market is things gradually moving on. So some areas will become more commoditized. As that happens, we'll have new opportunities elsewhere. So. There's some really quite exciting stuff for the future coming through that allows us to target the entry-level market at a different price point. there's some really quite exciting stuff for the future coming through that allows us to target the entry-level market at a different price point Now, people always worry about this in terms of what does that mean in terms of threat of the different areas. now people always worry about this in terms of what does that mean in terms of threat of the different areas But actually, this is stuff which is designed such that it's only suitable for entry-level. but actually this is stuff which is designed such that it's only suitable for entry-level What we always see in things like the encoder market is things gradually moving on. what we always see in things like the encoder market is things gradually moving on So some areas will become more commoditized. so some areas will become more commoditized As that happens, we'll have new opportunities elsewhere. as that happens we'll have new opportunities elsewhere So. so

Speaker 4: That's really helpful. Thank you. On additive manufacturing, I mean, it's clearly moving in the right direction, which is great to see. I think these are obviously much bigger ticket items for you. Not many are going to be needed to kind of move that specialized technologies aisle. I mean, you talk to the defense customers, but in terms of size, are these smaller end users? I'm just trying to think about how significant the move is there, how quickly we get to that becoming an established business. Is this about kind of expanding AM usage and really embedding the technology with your existing customers, or is it growing the base and new customers? I know you've talked to both of those, but a bit of extra color on how you're seeing that would be helpful. That's really helpful. that's really helpful Thank you. thank you On additive manufacturing, I mean, it's clearly moving in the right direction, which is great to see. on additive manufacturing i mean it's clearly moving in the right direction which is great to see I think these are obviously much bigger ticket items for you. i think these are obviously much bigger ticket items for you Not many are going to be needed to kind of move that specialized technologies aisle. not many are going to be needed to kind of move that specialized technologies aisle I mean, you talk to the defense customers, but in terms of size, are these smaller end users? i mean you talk to the defense customers but in terms of size are these smaller end users I'm just trying to think about how significant the move is there, how quickly we get to that becoming an established business. i'm just trying to think about how significant the move is there how quickly we get to that becoming an established business Is this about kind of expanding AM usage and really embedding the technology with your existing customers, or is it growing the base and new customers? is this about kind of expanding am usage and really embedding the technology with your existing customers or is it growing the base and new customers I know you've talked to both of those, but a bit of extra color on how you're seeing that would be helpful. i know you've talked to both of those but a bit of extra color on how you're seeing that would be helpful

Speaker 9: I think both of those are key. And often, we'll try and say, "Look, we're focusing on existing customers and repeat business and not doing too much." And then new customers will come along. So absolutely, we're targeting existing and new. Size of the customers can range from really large to far more dedicated specialists supplying into industries. I think the most important bit across the board on this is people embracing and understanding the benefits, designing for AM, and showing then to their customers, "This is the advantage you can get and what we can do for you now with this." So it feels like for a long time and we've had this on machine tool probes. We had it on Equators. We had it on the ballbar product and calibration software doing the marketing. I think both of those are key. i think both of those are key And often, we'll try and say, "Look, we're focusing on existing customers and repeat business and not doing too much." And then new customers will come along. and often we'll try and say "look we're focusing on existing customers and repeat business and not doing too much." and then new customers will come along So absolutely, we're targeting existing and new. so absolutely we're targeting existing and new Size of the customers can range from really large to far more dedicated specialists supplying into industries. size of the customers can range from really large to far more dedicated specialists supplying into industries I think the most important bit across the board on this is people embracing and understanding the benefits, designing for AM, and showing then to their customers, "This is the advantage you can get and what we can do for you now with this." So it feels like for a long time and we've had this on machine tool probes. i think the most important bit across the board on this is people embracing and understanding the benefits designing for am and showing then to their customers "this is the advantage you can get and what we can do for you now with this." so it feels like for a long time and we've had this on machine tool probes We had it on Equators. we had it on equators We had it on the ballbar product and calibration software doing the marketing. we had it on the ballbar product and calibration software doing the marketing Once the customer starts saying, "This is what it can do," things start to really accelerate. There will for sure be ups and downs on that journey. As you say, with big-ticket items, it doesn't take that much to change. It's also different for us from a manufacturing point of view. Ramping up with encoders is somewhat different to ramping up with the scale and complexity of an AM machine. Once the customer starts saying, "This is what it can do," things start to really accelerate. once the customer starts saying "this is what it can do," things start to really accelerate There will for sure be ups and downs on that journey. there will for sure be ups and downs on that journey As you say, with big-ticket items, it doesn't take that much to change. as you say with big-ticket items it doesn't take that much to change It's also different for us from a manufacturing point of view. it's also different for us from a manufacturing point of view Ramping up with encoders is somewhat different to ramping up with the scale and complexity of an AM machine. ramping up with encoders is somewhat different to ramping up with the scale and complexity of an am machine

Speaker 5: Thank you. Mark Davies Jones at Stifel for a couple of things, please. Firstly, slightly longer-term question, but obviously, it's frustrating in some ways to see all the good organic progress and profitability eaten up by FX. I'm not going to ask you about a hedging strategy. But more about the cost base. I mean, you are unusual in having so much of your R&D and manufacturing located in the home market rather than pushing that out into the regions. Is there any change in the thinking about that, or do you think that's caught your ability to sort of control the technology go-to-market? Thank you. thank you Mark Davies Jones at Stifel for a couple of things, please. mark davies jones at stifel for a couple of things please Firstly, slightly longer-term question, but obviously, it's frustrating in some ways to see all the good organic progress and profitability eaten up by FX. firstly slightly longer-term question but obviously it's frustrating in some ways to see all the good organic progress and profitability eaten up by fx I'm not going to ask you about a hedging strategy. But more about the cost base. i'm not going to ask you about a hedging strategy but more about the cost base I mean, you are unusual in having so much of your R&D and manufacturing located in the home market rather than pushing that out into the regions. i mean you are unusual in having so much of your r&d and manufacturing located in the home market rather than pushing that out into the regions Is there any change in the thinking about that, or do you think that's caught your ability to sort of control the technology go-to-market? is there any change in the thinking about that or do you think that's caught your ability to sort of control the technology go-to-market

Speaker 9: Yes, that's a very good question and one that we are considering at the moment. My honest thought is probably the reason that we would be moving any manufacturing would be for geopolitical access reasons. Because honestly, as we have things in terms of single point of manufacture areas, we feel is extremely efficient. So this is one of our strategy decision topics of what we should be doing. And are there certain products? It could be some of the stuff that was tied in with the question on low cost, which are ones that we decide we make further afield. I don't think we'd be doing this to try and the primary reason for doing this would not be to give ourselves more stability from a currency point of view. It would be a nice benefit from it. Yes, that's a very good question and one that we are considering at the moment. yes that's a very good question and one that we are considering at the moment My honest thought is probably the reason that we would be moving any manufacturing would be for geopolitical access reasons. my honest thought is probably the reason that we would be moving any manufacturing would be for geopolitical access reasons Because honestly, as we have things in terms of single point of manufacture areas, we feel is extremely efficient. because honestly as we have things in terms of single point of manufacture areas we feel is extremely efficient So this is one of our strategy decision topics of what we should be doing. so this is one of our strategy decision topics of what we should be doing And are there certain products? and are there certain products It could be some of the stuff that was tied in with the question on low cost, which are ones that we decide we make further afield. it could be some of the stuff that was tied in with the question on low cost which are ones that we decide we make further afield I don't think we'd be doing this to try and the primary reason for doing this would not be to give ourselves more stability from a currency point of view. i don't think we'd be doing this to try and the primary reason for doing this would not be to give ourselves more stability from a currency point of view It would be a nice benefit from it. it would be a nice benefit from it

Speaker 5: Okay. And just a little one. I won't ask you about share buybacks because you didn't say anything. Given the strength of the numbers and the strength of the balance sheet, is a flat dividend a bit mean? Is there some sort of reweighting to your thinking around that? Okay. okay And just a little one. and just a little one I won't ask you about share buybacks because you didn't say anything. i won't ask you about share buybacks because you didn't say anything Given the strength of the numbers and the strength of the balance sheet, is a flat dividend a bit mean? given the strength of the numbers and the strength of the balance sheet is a flat dividend a bit mean Is there some sort of reweighting to your thinking around that? is there some sort of reweighting to your thinking around that

Speaker 9: So we target a dividend cover of two. And if you look at the midpoint on the profit for the end of year, then this would give us that with a flat divvy. Clearly, I guess we have an optimism around the business, but it is one quarter that things have happened, and we don't want everyone to get carried away. So just I guess that probably the fuller answer to that is on a capital allocation point of view, this is more of a strategic question for us to go through as a board of thinking of how we want to run the business and use that cash or return that cash. So that's the bigger question for the future, not addressed by a divvy, really. So we target a dividend cover of two. so we target a dividend cover of two And if you look at the midpoint on the profit for the end of year, then this would give us that with a flat divvy. and if you look at the midpoint on the profit for the end of year then this would give us that with a flat divvy Clearly, I guess we have an optimism around the business, but it is one quarter that things have happened, and we don't want everyone to get carried away. clearly i guess we have an optimism around the business but it is one quarter that things have happened and we don't want everyone to get carried away So just I guess that probably the fuller answer to that is on a capital allocation point of view, this is more of a strategic question for us to go through as a board of thinking of how we want to run the business and use that cash or return that cash. so just i guess that probably the fuller answer to that is on a capital allocation point of view this is more of a strategic question for us to go through as a board of thinking of how we want to run the business and use that cash or return that cash So that's the bigger question for the future, not addressed by a divvy, really. so that's the bigger question for the future not addressed by a divvy really

Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you. Okay. okay Thank you. thank you

Speaker 8: Thanks. It's Richard Page from Deutsche Numis. Two from me as well, please. On the defense, it sounds as though I may have been getting this wrong, but your growth is going to be ahead of the market. There's new applications or new customers you're winning within that. Can you just elaborate on sort of end use within the defense world, please? Thanks . thanks It's Richard Page from Deutsche Numis. it's richard page from deutsche numis Two from me as well, please. two from me as well please On the defense, it sounds as though I may have been getting this wrong, but your growth is going to be ahead of the market. on the defense it sounds as though i may have been getting this wrong but your growth is going to be ahead of the market There's new applications or new customers you're winning within that. there's new applications or new customers you're winning within that Can you just elaborate on sort of end use within the defense world, please? can you just elaborate on sort of end use within the defense world please

Speaker 9: Yeah, really broad. So we will have so ASTRiA, we talked about, which will be something that defense customers could integrate. Additive manufacturing can be something that parts can be made with versus a lot of indirect stuff, probably through machine tool CMM builders, etc., which will allow the metrology and the precision of machine parts needed for going into defense. So direct and indirect, a real mixture there. In terms of where we are on investment curves, I'm not sure that we really know, to be honest. Yeah, really broad. yeah really broad So we will have so ASTRiA, we talked about, which will be something that defense customers could integrate. so we will have so astria we talked about which will be something that defense customers could integrate Additive manufacturing can be something that parts can be made with versus a lot of indirect stuff, probably through machine tool CMM builders, etc., which will allow the metrology and the precision of machine parts needed for going into defense. additive manufacturing can be something that parts can be made with versus a lot of indirect stuff probably through machine tool cmm builders etc which will allow the metrology and the precision of machine parts needed for going into defense So direct and indirect, a real mixture there. so direct and indirect a real mixture there In terms of where we are on investment curves, I'm not sure that we really know, to be honest. in terms of where we are on investment curves i'm not sure that we really know to be honest

Speaker 8: Thank you. And the other word that normally goes with defense, aerospace. We haven't spoken about it much here, but obviously, with the industry ramp and so forth, you expect that to be a reasonably strong area of demand for you as well. Thank you. thank you And the other word that normally goes with defense, aerospace. and the other word that normally goes with defense aerospace We haven't spoken about it much here, but obviously, with the industry ramp and so forth, you expect that to be a reasonably strong area of demand for you as well. we haven't spoken about it much here but obviously with the industry ramp and so forth you expect that to be a reasonably strong area of demand for you as well

Speaker 9: Yeah, I'm not sure what exactly our aerospace numbers are at the moment, but it's not a. Yeah, I'm not sure what exactly our aerospace numbers are at the moment, but it's not a. yeah i'm not sure what exactly our aerospace numbers are at the moment but it's not a

Speaker 6: I would say that's probably where we're seeing that coming through with our AGILITY sales, particularly in the Americas. We've got a lot of key customers that are in the aero engine sector in particular, but also airframe to a lesser extent. So that's been a driver of performance more recently in the non-defense element of A&D, although obviously, there's some overlap there in the engine business. They tend to serve both sectors. I would say that's probably where we're seeing that coming through with our AGILITY sales, particularly in the Americas. i would say that's probably where we're seeing that coming through with our agility sales particularly in the americas We've got a lot of key customers that are in the aero engine sector in particular, but also airframe to a lesser extent. we've got a lot of key customers that are in the aero engine sector in particular but also airframe to a lesser extent So that's been a driver of performance more recently in the non-defense element of A&D, although obviously, there's some overlap there in the engine business. so that's been a driver of performance more recently in the non-defense element of a&d although obviously there's some overlap there in the engine business They tend to serve both sectors. they tend to serve both sectors

Speaker 8: Thank you. Thank you . thank you

Speaker 9: I think one key when you're thinking about additive manufacturing and I think this is a good thing for all of us, but if you're working with an aerospace, there is an awful lot of checking balances, review. So it's a very long development time that you're working with a customer before you get sales. Defense is far quicker on things that maybe don't have as long a lifetime. I think one key when you're thinking about additive manufacturing and I think this is a good thing for all of us, but if you're working with an aerospace, there is an awful lot of checking balances, review. i think one key when you're thinking about additive manufacturing and i think this is a good thing for all of us but if you're working with an aerospace there is an awful lot of checking balances review So it's a very long development time that you're working with a customer before you get sales. so it's a very long development time that you're working with a customer before you get sales Defense is far quicker on things that maybe don't have as long a lifetime. defense is far quicker on things that maybe don't have as long a lifetime

Speaker 6: Perhaps if I could just add as well, I think that there's quite a lot of new business formation going on at the moment in some of the later, the more recent platforms that are being developed for modern warfare. There's new players entering the business, and we're seeing some of that within our customer base as well as repeat business coming from established customers. Perhaps if I could just add as well, I think that there's quite a lot of new business formation going on at the moment in some of the later, the more recent platforms that are being developed for modern warfare. perhaps if i could just add as well i think that there's quite a lot of new business formation going on at the moment in some of the later the more recent platforms that are being developed for modern warfare There's new players entering the business, and we're seeing some of that within our customer base as well as repeat business coming from established customers. there's new players entering the business and we're seeing some of that within our customer base as well as repeat business coming from established customers

Speaker 1: Hi, it's Bruno Gjani from UBS. Just because we were on that defense topic, I just have a small follow-up. When you mentioned on the inductive encoder side that you were winning some customers and you were now being specked in on some new accounts, does that specifically relate to defense? Because if that's the case, I was wondering whether if now you're being specced in, you could actually see a material rise within that product line, or how are you sort of thinking about that component? Hi, it's Bruno Gjani from UBS. hi it's bruno gjani from ubs Just because we were on that defense topic, I just have a small follow-up. just because we were on that defense topic i just have a small follow-up When you mentioned on the inductive encoder side that you were winning some customers and you were now being specked in on some new accounts, does that specifically relate to defense? when you mentioned on the inductive encoder side that you were winning some customers and you were now being specked in on some new accounts does that specifically relate to defense Because if that's the case, I was wondering whether if now you're being specced in , you could actually see a material rise within that product line, or how are you sort of thinking about that component? because if that's the case i was wondering whether if now you're being specced in you could actually see a material rise within that product line or how are you sort of thinking about that component

Speaker 9: Yes, this is still small. We have one size of ASTRiA at the moment. And it's great with the customers. They love it. But suddenly, it's okay, I need this size, and I need this size, and I need this size, which does create some engineering and manufacturing work. So yes, that's going to be a positive. It's quick in our terms that we think of for encoder business development, but it's still not going to have a material impact in the next year or so. Yes, this is still small. yes this is still small We have one size of ASTRiA at the moment. we have one size of astria at the moment And it's great with the customers. and it's great with the customers They love it. they love it But suddenly, it's okay, I need this size, and I need this size, and I need this size, which does create some engineering and manufacturing work. but suddenly it's okay i need this size and i need this size and i need this size which does create some engineering and manufacturing work So yes, that's going to be a positive. so yes that's going to be a positive It's quick in our terms that we think of for encoder business development, but it's still not going to have a material impact in the next year or so. it's quick in our terms that we think of for encoder business development but it's still not going to have a material impact in the next year or so

Speaker 1: Understood. It reads as if the emerging product line businesses were really strong within the half and the quarter. I was just wondering if there was any way you could maybe roughly quantify the contribution to growth from those emerging products. Might not be. Understood. understood It reads as if the emerging product line businesses were really strong within the half and the quarter. it reads as if the emerging product line businesses were really strong within the half and the quarter I was just wondering if there was any way you could maybe roughly quantify the contribution to growth from those emerging products. i was just wondering if there was any way you could maybe roughly quantify the contribution to growth from those emerging products Might not be. might not be

Speaker 9: I think probably at the moment, I think take the positivity, but probably we're better off keeping it just to the reporting segments that we have. I think probably at the moment, I think take the positivity, but probably we're better off keeping it just to the reporting segments that we have. i think probably at the moment i think take the positivity but probably we're better off keeping it just to the reporting segments that we have

Speaker 1: Understood. Were there any subtle differences in terms the order trends were really encouraging or sort of read to be really encouraging ahead of revenue growing really well? The order book was growing. Were there any subtle differences within what you observed in order intake, particularly as it relates maybe to Q2? So for example, I'm thinking of you called out machine sensors as being actually quite flat in the half. Did you see any sort of pickup on the order intake side there that's worthy of calling out, or not really? It's sort of similar drivers to revenue. Understood. understood Were there any subtle differences in terms the order trends were really encouraging or sort of read to be really encouraging ahead of revenue growing really well? were there any subtle differences in terms the order trends were really encouraging or sort of read to be really encouraging ahead of revenue growing really well The order book was growing. the order book was growing Were there any subtle differences within what you observed in order intake, particularly as it relates maybe to Q2? were there any subtle differences within what you observed in order intake particularly as it relates maybe to q2 So for example, I'm thinking of you called out machine sensors as being actually quite flat in the half. so for example i'm thinking of you called out machine sensors as being actually quite flat in the half Did you see any sort of pickup on the order intake side there that's worthy of calling out, or not really? did you see any sort of pickup on the order intake side there that's worthy of calling out or not really It's sort of similar drivers to revenue. it's sort of similar drivers to revenue

Speaker 6: Not worthy of calling out, I would say, on the machine tool sensors. The places that we saw the stronger growth were also the places that the revenue picked up. There's a strong correlation there. So additive position measurement into semi, those were probably the highlights. But generally, automation demand for the wider position encoder business as well. Not worthy of calling out, I would say, on the machine tool sensors. not worthy of calling out i would say on the machine tool sensors The places that we saw the stronger growth were also the places that the revenue picked up. the places that we saw the stronger growth were also the places that the revenue picked up There's a strong correlation there. there's a strong correlation there So additive position measurement into semi, those were probably the highlights. so additive position measurement into semi those were probably the highlights But generally, automation demand for the wider position encoder business as well. but generally automation demand for the wider position encoder business as well

Speaker 1: Just a final one that I was sort of wondering on is on laser encoders in terms of the mix headwind in the first half. What I wanted to get a sense of is whether the mix in the first half is abnormally low within laser encoders, and therefore, there's a potential for that to grow in the coming, so you'd say, 12-24 months, or was it that the mix in the first half of last year was abnormally high and actually we're at a normal level today? Just a final one that I was sort of wondering on is on laser encoders in terms of the mix headwind in the first half. just a final one that i was sort of wondering on is on laser encoders in terms of the mix headwind in the first half What I wanted to get a sense of is whether the mix in the first half is abnormally low within laser encoders, and therefore, there's a potential for that to grow in the coming, so you'd say, 12-24 months, or was it that the mix in the first half of last year was abnormally high and actually we're at a normal level today? what i wanted to get a sense of is whether the mix in the first half is abnormally low within laser encoders and therefore there's a potential for that to grow in the coming so you'd say 12-24 months or was it that the mix in the first half of last year was abnormally high and actually we're at a normal level today

Speaker 6: The latter is more the case. So it was an exceptional period in the prior year. I'd say that laser encoder product line has been a real success story for us over the last sort of 10 years or so. And we have a strong niche position in wafer inspection. And that is obviously tied to front-end semi, and the trends in that market look decent at the moment. And we've seen rising order books. So we're optimistic that if you look through the perturbation of the prior year, there's a nice growth story here. The latter is more the case. the latter is more the case So it was an exceptional period in the prior year. so it was an exceptional period in the prior year I'd say that laser encoder product line has been a real success story for us over the last sort of 10 years or so. i'd say that laser encoder product line has been a real success story for us over the last sort of 10 years or so And we have a strong niche position in wafer inspection. and we have a strong niche position in wafer inspection And that is obviously tied to front-end semi, and the trends in that market look decent at the moment. and that is obviously tied to front-end semi and the trends in that market look decent at the moment And we've seen rising order books. and we've seen rising order books So we're optimistic that if you look through the perturbation of the prior year, there's a nice growth story here. so we're optimistic that if you look through the perturbation of the prior year there's a nice growth story here

Speaker 1: Understood. I'll pass it on. Sorry, can I do a couple more? Defense, I don't remember being in your sort of breakdown of end markets being a big chunk in prior years. So could you give some sort of sense of the scale of that for you? I know it's tricky with your routes to market. Understood. understood I'll pass it on. i'll pass it on Sorry, can I do a couple more? sorry can i do a couple more Defense, I don't remember being in your sort of breakdown of end markets being a big chunk in prior years. defense i don't remember being in your sort of breakdown of end markets being a big chunk in prior years So could you give some sort of sense of the scale of that for you? so could you give some sort of sense of the scale of that for you I know it's tricky with your routes to market. i know it's tricky with your routes to market

Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah. I think we normally talk about 5%. It feels like that's creeping up at the moment. And it's probably being quite impactful in certain areas that we've talked about. Yeah, yeah. yeah yeah I think we normally talk about 5%. i think we normally talk about 5% It feels like that's creeping up at the moment. it feels like that's creeping up at the moment And it's probably being quite impactful in certain areas that we've talked about. and it's probably being quite impactful in certain areas that we've talked about

Speaker 6: So it normally sits within what we call, I mean, aerospace normally is where defense sits. We haven't called it A&D, and perhaps we should. But the bulk of that historically has been civil. But yeah, the defense proportion of that is rising. And as a share of the total, it feels like it's increasing overall as well as other segments are less buoyant. So it normally sits within what we call, I mean, aerospace normally is where defense sits. so it normally sits within what we call i mean aerospace normally is where defense sits We haven't called it A&D, and perhaps we should. we haven't called it a&d and perhaps we should But the bulk of that historically has been civil. but the bulk of that historically has been civil But yeah, the defense proportion of that is rising. but yeah the defense proportion of that is rising And as a share of the total, it feels like it's increasing overall as well as other segments are less buoyant. and as a share of the total it feels like it's increasing overall as well as other segments are less buoyant

Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you. And the other one is you talked about geopolitical considerations in where you put your manufacturing. How about where your customers do? There's been all this talk about kind of reshoring and much less evidence of it actually driving investment. Are you seeing any of that coming through? Okay. okay Thank you. thank you And the other one is you talked about geopolitical considerations in where you put your manufacturing. and the other one is you talked about geopolitical considerations in where you put your manufacturing How about where your customers do? how about where your customers do There's been all this talk about kind of reshoring and much less evidence of it actually driving investment. there's been all this talk about kind of reshoring and much less evidence of it actually driving investment Are you seeing any of that coming through? are you seeing any of that coming through

Speaker 9: I think it's really hard to say. What we are certainly seeing is some of our customers where we would have shipped product to a certain country now saying, "Okay, actually, over the next six months, we are migrating manufacturing to a different area." Some of that's going the other way. So that's countries moving out, actually. And then there's a broadening in other areas. So it's actually quite complicated. We met with some of the electronics equipment manufacturers recently. And I think we probably need to understand a little bit more about why they are going to certain areas and what those trends are going to be. For us, that doesn't matter much because we'll do the work with the design teams, and then it tends to be just where we deliver the products to. I think it's really hard to say. i think it's really hard to say What we are certainly seeing is some of our customers where we would have shipped product to a certain country now saying, "Okay, actually, over the next six months, we are migrating manufacturing to a different area." Some of that's going the other way. what we are certainly seeing is some of our customers where we would have shipped product to a certain country now saying "okay actually over the next six months we are migrating manufacturing to a different area." some of that's going the other way So that's countries moving out, actually. so that's countries moving out actually And then there's a broadening in other areas. and then there's a broadening in other areas So it's actually quite complicated. so it's actually quite complicated We met with some of the electronics equipment manufacturers recently. we met with some of the electronics equipment manufacturers recently And I think we probably need to understand a little bit more about why they are going to certain areas and what those trends are going to be. and i think we probably need to understand a little bit more about why they are going to certain areas and what those trends are going to be For us, that doesn't matter much because we'll do the work with the design teams, and then it tends to be just where we deliver the products to. for us that doesn't matter much because we'll do the work with the design teams and then it tends to be just where we deliver the products to

Speaker 1: No, I guess I was also looking at the strength in the U.S. Do you think more product-specific than market? No, I guess I was also looking at the strength in the U.S. no i guess i was also looking at the strength in the u.s Do you think more product-specific than market? do you think more product-specific than market

Speaker 9: I think there's a good capital investment going on there at the moment. Again, probably some of the underlying manufacturing with component side of it is maybe less. We see some things going in, some things going out. Clearly, if you're a manufacturer that's going to be exporting, making stuff in the U.S., you may decide you're better off not making it there, which we have seen. I think there's a good capital investment going on there at the moment. i think there's a good capital investment going on there at the moment Again, probably some of the underlying manufacturing with component side of it is maybe less. again probably some of the underlying manufacturing with component side of it is maybe less We see some things going in, some things going out. we see some things going in some things going out Clearly, if you're a manufacturer that's going to be exporting, making stuff in the U.S., you may decide you're better off not making it there, which we have seen. clearly if you're a manufacturer that's going to be exporting making stuff in the u.s you may decide you're better off not making it there which we have seen

Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you. Okay. okay Thank you. thank you

Speaker 9: Much to the complaints of our U.S. team of doing all the work and then moving the business to a yeah. Much to the complaints of our U.S. team of doing all the work and then moving the business to a yeah. much to the complaints of our u.s team of doing all the work and then moving the business to a yeah

Speaker 6: It's been a long-running story. It's been a long-running story. it's been a long-running story

Speaker 3: Harry Phillips from Peel Hunt, just one question, please, on the order book. You talk a lot about the order book in the statement, but obviously, don't give us a number. So I'm assuming it's reasonably short cycle. I mean, in terms of the book-to-bill, given the revenue growth you've had in the period, can you at least give us an idea of where the book-to-bill might be against that? And then would it be right to assume that the order book is reasonably short cycle, maybe additive manufacturing apart, or is that naive? Harry Phillips from Peel Hunt, just one question, please, on the order book. harry phillips from peel hunt just one question please on the order book You talk a lot about the order book in the statement, but obviously, don't give us a number. you talk a lot about the order book in the statement but obviously don't give us a number So I'm assuming it's reasonably short cycle. so i'm assuming it's reasonably short cycle I mean, in terms of the book-to-bill, given the revenue growth you've had in the period, can you at least give us an idea of where the book-to-bill might be against that? i mean in terms of the book-to-bill given the revenue growth you've had in the period can you at least give us an idea of where the book-to-bill might be against that And then would it be right to assume that the order book is reasonably short cycle, maybe additive manufacturing apart, or is that naive? and then would it be right to assume that the order book is reasonably short cycle maybe additive manufacturing apart or is that naive

Speaker 9: It's not an it is. I think the one thing we would always put in as a caveat, so you're right with the additive. On encoder, what we will see is when our customers start to get more stressed because they really think they've got orders coming through, and they often don't find out until last minute, they will start to put on call-off orders, and they'll give us a 12-month, 18-month order with predicted volumes, which will go on to our order book. They will cancel that extremely quickly if they change their mind. But they will also shout when they want double that. So we look at the order book, and it gives us a feeling, but you can't rely on it either. It's not an it is. it's not an it is I think the one thing we would always put in as a caveat, so you're right with the additive. i think the one thing we would always put in as a caveat so you're right with the additive On encoder, what we will see is when our customers start to get more stressed because they really think they've got orders coming through, and they often don't find out until last minute, they will start to put on call-off orders, and they'll give us a 12-month, 18-month order with predicted volumes, which will go on to our order book. on encoder what we will see is when our customers start to get more stressed because they really think they've got orders coming through and they often don't find out until last minute they will start to put on call-off orders and they'll give us a 12-month 18-month order with predicted volumes which will go on to our order book They will cancel that extremely quickly if they change their mind. they will cancel that extremely quickly if they change their mind But they will also shout when they want double that. but they will also shout when they want double that So we look at the order book, and it gives us a feeling, but you can't rely on it either. so we look at the order book and it gives us a feeling but you can't rely on it either

Speaker 6: We know that some of it will melt away. We know that some of it will melt away. we know that some of it will melt away

Speaker 3: I mean, just precisely on that point, I suppose twofold is, does that heat, if you like, give you a window around pricing? I mean, if you get extreme demands in terms of potential demand pool and I suspect you don't want to sort of fess up online, but. And then the second is, how you plan your manufacturing around that? Because clearly, if you sort of responded directly to those order flows, you could load your cost base. And then, as you say, if you then get a cancellation, you're left with sort of stranded cost-type stuff. So how do you sort of what's the rational way of interpreting that sort of front-end into a sort of smoother manufacturing curve? I mean, just precisely on that point, I suppose twofold is, does that heat, if you like, give you a window around pricing? i mean just precisely on that point i suppose twofold is does that heat if you like give you a window around pricing I mean, if you get extreme demands in terms of potential demand pool and I suspect you don't want to sort of fess up online, but. i mean if you get extreme demands in terms of potential demand pool and i suspect you don't want to sort of fess up online but And then the second is, how you plan your manufacturing around that? and then the second is how you plan your manufacturing around that Because clearly, if you sort of responded directly to those order flows, you could load your cost base. because clearly if you sort of responded directly to those order flows you could load your cost base And then, as you say, if you then get a cancellation, you're left with sort of stranded cost-type stuff. and then as you say if you then get a cancellation you're left with sort of stranded cost-type stuff So how do you sort of what's the rational way of interpreting that sort of front-end into a sort of smoother manufacturing curve? so how do you sort of what's the rational way of interpreting that sort of front-end into a sort of smoother manufacturing curve

Speaker 9: You say smooth as though it's anything but normally when these things happen. So clearly, we're trying to work on very uncertain data. And we talk about as many things, even if there's investment going in, the end customer may not decide on which supplier they want to use. Those suppliers may all be using our encoders somewhere, but they may be using different encoders from us. So you can't even say, "Okay, we know it's going to come. Let's make this," because then this customer gets it, and they want something different. With us, it's trying to make sure as much as possible long-term strategy is migrate customers to our latest technology. That's far more designed for automated assembly so we can ramp up, and then it's supply chain holding up for us to be able to respond. You say smooth as though it's anything but normally when these things happen. you say smooth as though it's anything but normally when these things happen So clearly, we're trying to work on very uncertain data. so clearly we're trying to work on very uncertain data And we talk about as many things, even if there's investment going in, the end customer may not decide on which supplier they want to use. and we talk about as many things even if there's investment going in the end customer may not decide on which supplier they want to use Those suppliers may all be using our encoders somewhere, but they may be using different encoders from us. those suppliers may all be using our encoders somewhere but they may be using different encoders from us So you can't even say, "Okay, we know it's going to come. so you can't even say "okay we know it's going to come Let's make this," because then this customer gets it, and they want something different. let's make this," because then this customer gets it and they want something different With us, it's trying to make sure as much as possible long-term strategy is migrate customers to our latest technology. with us it's trying to make sure as much as possible long-term strategy is migrate customers to our latest technology That's far more designed for automated assembly so we can ramp up, and then it's supply chain holding up for us to be able to respond. that's far more designed for automated assembly so we can ramp up and then it's supply chain holding up for us to be able to respond Safety stocks, and when we look at it in terms of our invested capital, we are high there because we know this happens in the markets that we're operating in. We have to deal with that. Then there's just a lot of panic that goes on to try and make everything happen as quickly as it can. It is, on the more commoditized stuff, then quite complicated of understanding because often, we may even be dual-sourced. So it's us and a competitor are both designed into a product. Then it may be then who can supply better, quicker, whatever else. Safety stocks, and when we look at it in terms of our invested capital, we are high there because we know this happens in the markets that we're operating in. safety stocks and when we look at it in terms of our invested capital we are high there because we know this happens in the markets that we're operating in We have to deal with that. we have to deal with that Then there's just a lot of panic that goes on to try and make everything happen as quickly as it can. then there's just a lot of panic that goes on to try and make everything happen as quickly as it can It is, on the more commoditized stuff, then quite complicated of understanding because often, we may even be dual-sourced. it is on the more commoditized stuff then quite complicated of understanding because often we may even be dual-sourced So it's us and a competitor are both designed into a product. so it's us and a competitor are both designed into a product Then it may be then who can supply better, quicker, whatever else. then it may be then who can supply better quicker whatever else

Speaker 6: Just how we're also increasing our use of temporary labor in some parts of the supply chain for things like cables for encoders, which there's a lot of them to be made, and we use more temporary labor in our plants in India. Is one over there? Just how we're also increasing our use of temporary labor in some parts of the supply chain for things like cables for encoders, which there's a lot of them to be made, and we use more temporary labor in our plants in India. just how we're also increasing our use of temporary labor in some parts of the supply chain for things like cables for encoders which there's a lot of them to be made and we use more temporary labor in our plants in india Is one over there? is one over there

Speaker 9: Oh, yeah. Or do you want to go first, and then we'll yeah, as you've got it, yeah. Oh, yeah. oh yeah Or do you want to go first, and then we'll yeah, as you've got it, yeah. or do you want to go first and then we'll yeah as you've got it yeah

Speaker 3: Just have a quick follow-up or not a follow-up, but a question on ERP. Could you perhaps provide an update in regards to how that's planning out in terms of phasing, strategy, sort of key milestones to come? Just have a quick follow-up or not a follow-up, but a question on ERP. just have a quick follow-up or not a follow-up but a question on erp Could you perhaps provide an update in regards to how that's planning out in terms of phasing, strategy, sort of key milestones to come? could you perhaps provide an update in regards to how that's planning out in terms of phasing strategy sort of key milestones to come

Speaker 9: Yes, we can. So it's certainly been a challenge. Having done a small Canadian office, which went relatively smoothly, we've now done our most complicated U.K. center. We experienced an awful lot of challenges. I think it's fair to say we are through the worst of that now, but we still have a number of challenges that we want to make sure are resolved and working smoothly before we roll this out further, with Germany being our next company that will transfer over to D365. So yes, it has not been a pleasant experience, and a lot of lessons have been learned. Yes, we can. yes we can So it's certainly been a challenge. so it's certainly been a challenge Having done a small Canadian office, which went relatively smoothly, we've now done our most complicated U.K. center. having done a small canadian office which went relatively smoothly we've now done our most complicated u.k center We experienced an awful lot of challenges. we experienced an awful lot of challenges I think it's fair to say we are through the worst of that now, but we still have a number of challenges that we want to make sure are resolved and working smoothly before we roll this out further, with Germany being our next company that will transfer over to D365. i think it's fair to say we are through the worst of that now but we still have a number of challenges that we want to make sure are resolved and working smoothly before we roll this out further with germany being our next company that will transfer over to d365 So yes, it has not been a pleasant experience, and a lot of lessons have been learned. so yes it has not been a pleasant experience and a lot of lessons have been learned

Speaker 3: Understood. On the machine tool builder market, it sounds as if Europe has been soft for a while. I was just wondering whether you're seeing any signs of green shoots as it relates to German stimulus spending in 2026 and beyond, or are those not apparent yet? Understood. understood On the machine tool builder market, it sounds as if Europe has been soft for a while. on the machine tool builder market it sounds as if europe has been soft for a while I was just wondering whether you're seeing any signs of green shoots as it relates to German stimulus spending in 2026 and beyond, or are those not apparent yet? i was just wondering whether you're seeing any signs of green shoots as it relates to german stimulus spending in 2026 and beyond or are those not apparent yet

Speaker 9: The last conversation I had was back at the end of last year with the head of a German machine tool company. They were talking about this being a five-year recession like they saw back in the 1990s of a really tough time. Didn't think it was going to get any worse. It's just like yeah, it's really tough over there, domestic market, export market. I think, as we talked about, we've seen some of them being taken over. Yeah, it's tough. The last conversation I had was back at the end of last year with the head of a German machine tool company. the last conversation i had was back at the end of last year with the head of a german machine tool company They were talking about this being a five-year recession like they saw back in the 1990s of a really tough time. they were talking about this being a five-year recession like they saw back in the 1990s of a really tough time Didn't think it was going to get any worse. didn't think it was going to get any worse It's just like yeah, it's really tough over there, domestic market, export market. it's just like yeah it's really tough over there domestic market export market I think, as we talked about, we've seen some of them being taken over. i think as we talked about we've seen some of them being taken over Yeah, it's tough. yeah it's tough

Speaker 3: Lastly, could we touch maybe upon humanoids? There are some companies in the market, sort of traditional industrial companies with, let's say, less expertise in automation and robotics that have been talking about this quite a lot, and the financial market has rewarded them for it. Do you have a suitable product today that could serve that market? Do you have any existing relationships with sort of humanoid OEMs? And do you view it as a potential opportunity, say, over the next 5-10 years? Lastly, could we touch maybe upon humanoids? lastly could we touch maybe upon humanoids There are some companies in the market, sort of traditional industrial companies with, let's say, less expertise in automation and robotics that have been talking about this quite a lot, and the financial market has rewarded them for it. there are some companies in the market sort of traditional industrial companies with let's say less expertise in automation and robotics that have been talking about this quite a lot and the financial market has rewarded them for it Do you have a suitable product today that could serve that market? do you have a suitable product today that could serve that market Do you have any existing relationships with sort of humanoid OEMs? do you have any existing relationships with sort of humanoid oems And do you view it as a potential opportunity, say, over the next 5-10 years? and do you view it as a potential opportunity say over the next 5-10 years

Speaker 9: Okay. So I thought the first bit is, are we going to do a humanoid robot, which would be an easy no. No, we are definitely not going to do that. So the bit we are talking with some people around here is on the encoder, the retrofit encoder technology. In our view, probably, this is going to end up being a quite commoditized low-end market. And the price point they'll be looking at is not going to be attractive, and we've got better opportunities to go after. So it's something we look at, we'll monitor, but I don't see it being significant for us. Okay. okay So I thought the first bit is, are we going to do a humanoid robot, which would be an easy no. so i thought the first bit is are we going to do a humanoid robot which would be an easy no No, we are definitely not going to do that. no we are definitely not going to do that So the bit we are talking with some people around here is on the encoder, the retrofit encoder technology. so the bit we are talking with some people around here is on the encoder the retrofit encoder technology In our view, probably, this is going to end up being a quite commoditized low-end market. in our view probably this is going to end up being a quite commoditized low-end market And the price point they'll be looking at is not going to be attractive, and we've got better opportunities to go after. and the price point they'll be looking at is not going to be attractive and we've got better opportunities to go after So it's something we look at, we'll monitor, but I don't see it being significant for us. so it's something we look at we'll monitor but i don't see it being significant for us

Speaker 6: Got it. That's a question I may have. Got it. got it That's a question I may have. it that's a question i may have

Speaker 9: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 7: Morning, Rich Hill from Jefferies. Just a couple of questions just looking at margins. Looking at position measurement, obviously, you had one of the largest margin movements kind of out in the division. Just wanted to ask, you've kind of talked about FX and the mix, just whether there's anything else in there, perhaps more cost falling in there comparatively. And I guess to Bruno's question earlier with it perhaps normalising, just how you kind of see that in the second half, whether kind of that bit of growth in the order book for the laser encoders will kind of offset it a little bit for the second half. Morning, Rich Hill from Jefferies. morning rich hill from jefferies Just a couple of questions just looking at margins. just a couple of questions just looking at margins Looking at position measurement, obviously, you had one of the largest margin movements kind of out in the division. looking at position measurement obviously you had one of the largest margin movements kind of out in the division Just wanted to ask, you've kind of talked about FX and the mix, just whether there's anything else in there, perhaps more cost falling in there comparatively. just wanted to ask you've kind of talked about fx and the mix just whether there's anything else in there perhaps more cost falling in there comparatively And I guess to Bruno's question earlier with it perhaps normalising, just how you kind of see that in the second half, whether kind of that bit of growth in the order book for the laser encoders will kind of offset it a little bit for the second half. and i guess to bruno's question earlier with it perhaps normalising just how you kind of see that in the second half whether kind of that bit of growth in the order book for the laser encoders will kind of offset it a little bit for the second half

Speaker 9: I'll take that, yeah. So I mean, I don't think we see anything sort of particularly different in terms of sort of cost-based escalation going on in there. We did reduce costs slightly less in the position measurement sort of side of the organization and some of the other areas in the cost reduction process. But that was because we had some areas that we were really seeking to invest in and some of the emerging elements of the product line that we felt we wanted to allocate resource to. So it had a slightly lower proportion, but we're talking a percentile. So it's not a huge factor in this. So no, the primary driver in the short term was mix. But we're seeing it's well into the 20s in operating margin, and I think long-term going in the right direction. I'll take that, yeah. i'll take that yeah So I mean, I don't think we see anything sort of particularly different in terms of sort of cost-based escalation going on in there. so i mean i don't think we see anything sort of particularly different in terms of sort of cost-based escalation going on in there We did reduce costs slightly less in the position measurement sort of side of the organization and some of the other areas in the cost reduction process. we did reduce costs slightly less in the position measurement sort of side of the organization and some of the other areas in the cost reduction process But that was because we had some areas that we were really seeking to invest in and some of the emerging elements of the product line that we felt we wanted to allocate resource to. but that was because we had some areas that we were really seeking to invest in and some of the emerging elements of the product line that we felt we wanted to allocate resource to So it had a slightly lower proportion, but we're talking a percentile. so it had a slightly lower proportion but we're talking a percentile So it's not a huge factor in this. so it's not a huge factor in this So no, the primary driver in the short term was mix. so no the primary driver in the short term was mix But we're seeing it's well into the 20s in operating margin, and I think long-term going in the right direction. but we're seeing it's well into the 20s in operating margin and i think long-term going in the right direction

Speaker 7: Okay, thanks. And then, if I may, just chance question, looking at your kind of emerging products, and we've heard their kind of importance for your strategy going forward, just in terms of margins and appreciate not specifics, but the assumption being that they're lower kind of margin to go as they come in, as you gain that market share. But just looking at that kind of profile as they become more developed, I guess what kind of timeframe or any other details you could give us there would be great. Okay, thanks. okay thanks And then, if I may, just chance question, looking at your kind of emerging products, and we've heard their kind of importance for your strategy going forward, just in terms of margins and appreciate not specifics, but the assumption being that they're lower kind of margin to go as they come in, as you gain that market share. and then if i may just chance question looking at your kind of emerging products and we've heard their kind of importance for your strategy going forward just in terms of margins and appreciate not specifics but the assumption being that they're lower kind of margin to go as they come in as you gain that market share But just looking at that kind of profile as they become more developed, I guess what kind of timeframe or any other details you could give us there would be great. but just looking at that kind of profile as they become more developed i guess what kind of timeframe or any other details you could give us there would be great

Speaker 9: Do you mean in terms of gross margin, sorry, or bottom line? Do you mean in terms of gross margin, sorry, or bottom line? do you mean in terms of gross margin sorry or bottom line

Speaker 7: More bottom line. More bottom line. more bottom line

Speaker 9: Okay. Yeah. So if they're emerging, they are definitely ones that are not hitting our profitability targets at the moment. They're at different stages. So we have targets on when different ones should be getting into better stages of profitability. Ones like CMM and gauging are far more established than some of the ones that we have just launched. Okay. okay Yeah. yeah So if they're emerging, they are definitely ones that are not hitting our profitability targets at the moment. so if they're emerging they are definitely ones that are not hitting our profitability targets at the moment They're at different stages. they're at different stages So we have targets on when different ones should be getting into better stages of profitability. so we have targets on when different ones should be getting into better stages of profitability Ones like CMM and gauging are far more established than some of the ones that we have just launched. ones like cmm and gauging are far more established than some of the ones that we have just launched

Speaker 7: Okay, thank you. Okay, thank you. okay thank you

Speaker 6: Chris, have we got anything online? No? Chris, have we got anything online? chris have we got anything online No? no

Speaker 2: Nothing, yet. Nothing, yet. nothing yet

Speaker 6: Okay. All right. Well, it feels like perhaps closing remarks. Okay. okay All right. all right Well, it feels like perhaps closing remarks. well it feels like perhaps closing remarks

Speaker 9: Yeah. So if there are no more questions, I guess in terms of overall, great to be back here in person. As I said at the start, it feels like a really good H1 set of results. Still lots of uncertainty, as there always is with us going forward in the short term. For me, I think the leaving messages would be on the medium to long term, if you look at the opportunities we have from the innovation engine and also the progress we're making on those emerging businesses and the focus areas that we have there. That's the excitement that is within the business and the excitement that should be around Renishaw. So thank you all very much. Yeah. yeah So if there are no more questions, I guess in terms of overall, great to be back here in person. so if there are no more questions i guess in terms of overall great to be back here in person As I said at the start, it feels like a really good H1 set of results. as i said at the start it feels like a really good h1 set of results Still lots of uncertainty, as there always is with us going forward in the short term. still lots of uncertainty as there always is with us going forward in the short term For me, I think the leaving messages would be on the medium to long term, if you look at the opportunities we have from the innovation engine and also the progress we're making on those emerging businesses and the focus areas that we have there. for me i think the leaving messages would be on the medium to long term if you look at the opportunities we have from the innovation engine and also the progress we're making on those emerging businesses and the focus areas that we have there That's the excitement that is within the business and the excitement that should be around Renishaw. that's the excitement that is within the business and the excitement that should be around renishaw So thank you all very much. so thank you all very much