Spirax-Sarco's (SPX) American chief executive, Mark Vernon, is heading back to the US in January after five years in charge. That's a blow, but he leaves the steam and pump engineer in good shape after restructuring last year, and successor Nick Anderson, currently running the Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) business, has already proved his worth.
Emea underlying operating profit, after stripping out last year's restructuring costs and currency benefits, rose 36 per cent during the first half to £22.7m. Half of that gain was down to cost cuts, but European factories have become more efficient, too, and Mr Anderson has kept a tight rein on pricing and discounts. And sales there still rose 3 per cent at constant currency as companies finally had to spend on maintenance. That was the driving force behind a 14 per cent jump in group profit to £68.1m, although there were gains elsewhere.