Spirax-Sarco defies expectations

That was particularly true in the Americas, where Spirax benefited from better US market conditions. Strip out currency shifts and the division's operating margins widened by 400 basis points to 22.2 per cent. Operating profits, too, increased by almost a third, despite difficult conditions in South America - specifically Brazil, where the corruption issues at Petrobras hit project work. But North America accounts for more than half of the division's sales and management's strategy to engage more with customers there and veer away from lower-margin service work came up trumps.

Another big beneficiary of improving economic conditions across the pond was Watson-Marlow, the group's niche peristaltic pumps business. Strong water and wastewater markets in the US and Asia helped drive a 13 per cent increase in the unit's sales to £138m. Equally important was the £8.2m acquisition of BioPure Technology, which added to the range of solutions within Watson-Marlow's core biotechnology business.

But this acquisition, and a 17 per cent jump in capital expenditure, didn't prevent cash balances from more than tripling to £52.5m. In light of the group's strong cash conversion, £91m - or 120p per share - is set to be returned to shareholders via a special dividend.

Investors will also be relieved to hear management's response to the plummeting oil price. Mr Anderson says the correlation of the oil price with group sales is "weak" due to strong relationships with customers and a product range that can also reduce CO2 emissions and save water - both business objectives that are underpinned by regulation.

Broker Numis forecasts adjusted pre-tax profit of £159m for 2015, giving adjusted EPS of 146p, up from £151m and 140p in 2014.