There’s reason to celebrate the first-half performance from Bodycote (BOY). Like other exporters, the thermal processing specialist felt the pressure of negative currency translations, particularly on the top line. Despite a £3.2m forex hit, however, operating profit grew by nearly 8 per cent to £54.2m as new technologies boosted the margin from 16.6 to 18 per cent.
Growth was strongest in the oil and gas sector. Management attributes 21 per cent organic growth partly to a temporary fillip from an end to heavy destocking in 2013. But market trends are also moving in the company's favour, they claim, particularly in the subsea arena. Growth from the car market - Bodycote uses heat treatment to strengthen a wide range of automotive parts - was also predictably strong, with organic growth of 7 per cent.