ALS shares lift despite first-half profit slip

The news: Laboratory testing provider ALS has posted a dip in first-half profit but strong revenue growth and better-than-expected underlying earnings have helped lift its shares.

The numbers: The company posted statutory profit of $134 million, down 9% from a year ago. However, underlying profit came in better than its previous estimate, at $158 million, while revenue rose 7.4% to $1.29 billion. ALS shares were up 7% to $11.43 each on the ASX by 11.15am AEDT.

The context: The company posted weaker full-year earnings in May, with a slowdown in work for ALS’ key geochemistry division, which tests mining substances such as gold samples, spooking the market. On Tuesday, it said margins had narrowed, but it has still managed to offset this partly despite a challenging environment. The company expects full year underlying profit to slip just 1% from a year ago, to be in the range of $310 million to $325 million.