£50m share buyback programme launched by South West manufacturer

Specialist valve producer Rotork started its share buyback programme today as it vowed to return cash to shareholders.

The Bath-headquartered group, which designs and makes high-quality flow control equipment for the global oil, gas, water and power industries, said the move would enable it to remain active in looking for suitable opportunities, consistent with its Growth+ strategy.

In its preliminary full year results last month that it “remained a highly cash generative business with considerable financial flexibility”.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange today it said the buyback was consistent with its stated capital allocation policy.

The aggregate purchase price of all ordinary shares acquired under the programme will be no more than £50m, it said.

Any Ordinary Shares bought by the company will be cancelled.

Last November Rotork said it was seeking “suitable acquisition opportunities” as it continued to target growth areas in its markets, control costs and invest in innovation.

The group, which employs about 3,200 people across its 16 manufacturing sites worldwide, spent much of 2023 recovering from worldwide supply chain bottlenecks, including a major shortage of microchips and semi-finished components such as circuit boards caused by pandemic-related lockdowns.

But improvements in its core markets last year and the early success of its Growth+ strategy have given it a brighter outlook.