Double worry puts Smiths on the slide

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Philip Bowman, the ex-Allied Domecq drinks boss who has been running Smiths for the past 15 months, said the group's conglomerate structure meant falls in airport security and medical devices profits were offset by a boom at the John Crane oil and gas engineering business. It will hit full-year targets, and the interim dividend is being held at 10.5p.

However, analysts said Smiths' apparent resilience was flattered by foreign exchange gains, and underlying profits fell 17% to £135 million in the six months to the end of January.

Worse, Smiths' figures reveal net debt up £204 million at £975 million. Falling stock markets and gilts yields have seen Smiths' pension-funds deficit balloon from £11 million to £464 million over the period.

On the fall in sales in security-detection products, Bowman said: "EU governments are deferring orders, preferring to spend their money bailing out banks."