Vesuvius PLC on Thursday said it expects to make ‘moderate progress’ this year, despite seeing annual earnings and sales decline on weakened steel markets.

The London-based molten metal flow engineering firm reported pretax profit of £179.4 million in 2023, down 13% from £206.6 million in 2022.

Revenue was £1.93 billion, down 5.7% from £2.05 billion, which Vesuvius attributed to ‘lower volumes in a weaker market’. In particular, the firm singled out volume declines in its Advanced Refractories segment, which were ‘amplified’ by a focus on pricing over volume.

Further, Vesuvius said that, while steel markets had improved a little in the first half, they weakened again in the second. This was especially noticeable in Europe, where steel production fell 7.3% compared with the previous year.

Nevertheless, the firm posted a dividend of 23.0 pence, up 3.4% from 22.25p a year before.

Looking forward, Vesuvius said it expects to see some improvement in steel and foundry markets as the year progresses, and to make ‘moderate progress’ in 2024.

Vesuvius shares were trading 1.7% lower at 478.40 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

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