Bodycote's profit up 5 percent

By Rhys Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Engineer Bodycote (BOY.L) posted a 5 percent rise in first-half profit on Tuesday, boosted by strong sales, and said its expectations for full-year results remain unchanged.

Bodycote, which last year rejected takeover proposals from Swiss group Sulzer (SUN.S), said it made profit before tax of 44.7 million pounds in the six months to June 30, compared with 42.6 million pounds in the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a profit of between 43 million and 46 million pounds.

"All our markets remain resilient, with the exception, as expected, of North American automotive and we will continue to win new business as customers outsource. We're comfortable with a full-year pretax target of 89 million pounds," Chief Executive John Hubbard told Reuters.

Bodycote, which in April said substantial shareholder value would be unlocked through the sale of its testing unit, expects to announce the sale of its materials testing businesses within the next three months.

"Final bids are due in August and the sale could be complete by September. There are a handful of interested parties and a figure of around 400 million pounds has been bandied around and we would expect to achieve around that," said Hubbard, who noted the group would provide an update on its strategy to focus on its core thermal processing operations by the end of Q3.

Bodycote, whose heat-treating technology is used to strengthen parts for the aerospace and care industries, said acquisition prospects were good and said it plans to spend up to 50 million pounds buying other companies this year. It has spent about 32 million pounds so far this fiscal year on eight acquisitions plus an investment in an associate business.

First-half sales rose by 20.5 percent to 382.6 million pounds driven by strong growth in both European and emerging markets.