Decarbonization And Digital Connectivity Will Unlock Future Markets

Key Takeaways

• Expanding decarbonization, energy optimization, and digital solutions are fueling sustained revenue growth, market share gains, and strengthening recurring earnings through higher-margin services.
  
• Strategic restructuring, a pivot to more stable MRO sales in Asia, and sector recovery enable margin expansion, innovation, and increased financial flexibility.
  
• Reliance on mature markets, exposure to legacy technologies, currency headwinds, and execution risks from restructuring may limit growth and profitability amid global uncertainty.

Catalysts

Provides thermal energy and fluid technology solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and the Americas.

• Spirax Group is strongly positioned to benefit from accelerating customer demand for decarbonization and energy optimization solutions, with a £7 billion annual addressable market just beginning to open up; expansion of electric thermal solutions, successful pilots, and growing adoption of new "Target Zero" and "PoweringZero" offerings are set to support multi-year revenue growth and market share gains.
  
• Growing investment in digital connectivity and automation-including expanding the number of connected customer sites, deployment of machine learning–enabled products, and sectorization of sales teams-should drive higher-margin service revenues, increased customer loyalty, and operational efficiency, underpinning an upward trajectory in net margins and recurring earnings.
  
• Spirax's deliberate pivot in China and other project-based Asian markets from large, lumpy capex projects toward MRO and solutions-based sales leverages its industry-leading direct sales force, allowing it to generate stable, double-digit growth even amid macro headwinds; as project demand eventually recovers, there is significant pent-up revenue upside and strengthening of overall margin profile due to the higher profitability of MRO.
  
• The group's operational restructuring program is delivering £35 million in annualized savings, freeing up capital for reinvestment in commercial headcount, digital upgrades, and targeted R&D; this unlocks capacity for margin expansion as well as innovation-driven top-line growth, with improving cash conversion and disciplined capex supporting balance sheet flexibility.
  
• Recovery in biopharma and semicon markets-both areas aligned with long-term trends in automation, advanced manufacturing, and health infrastructure-are driving order book strength and will provide momentum for above-market revenue growth and earnings in the near to medium term, especially as OEM demand volatility moderates and new product introductions ramp up.

Spirax Group Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming Spirax Group's revenue will grow by 4.5% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 9.8% today to 13.0% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach £245.2 million (and earnings per share of £3.33) by about August 2028, up from £162.6 million today. However, there is some disagreement amongst the analysts with the more bearish ones expecting earnings as low as £215.8 million.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 28.7x on those 2028 earnings, down from 32.0x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the GB Machinery industry at 23.5x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 0.14% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.66%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

Spirax Group Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• A significant portion of Spirax Group's sales in China and Korea (about 10% of group sales, with 60% of Chinese STS sales from CapEx budgets) remain dependent on large capital projects, which have exhibited double-digit declines due to ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties such as tariffs and political instability; prolonged weakness or only gradual recovery in these markets could dampen group revenues and earnings growth into 2026–2027.
  
• More than half of Spirax Group's sales are in mature markets (Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and the US) where industrial production (IP) contracted in the first half and forecasts have been revised downward; continued stagnation or slow-growth environments in these core markets would constrain future revenue expansion.
  
• The group highlighted negative impacts from currency movements (−3% on sales and −7% on operating profit in H1), with current FX outlooks also negative; if adverse currency trends persist or intensify, they could erode reported revenues, net margins, and EPS despite underlying organic performance.
  
• Spirax's addressable market and product portfolio are still substantially exposed to traditional steam and thermal energy systems; accelerating global decarbonization and the increased traction of alternative heating technologies (e.g., heat pumps, full electrification) over the coming decades could shrink demand for legacy offerings and increase long-term earnings volatility if the pace of portfolio adaptation lags industry trends.
  
• The company faces ongoing restructuring costs (£40 million, with cash outlay extending into 2026) and major investments in digitalization, ERP rollout, and manufacturing consolidation, all of which present execution risks; delays, cost overruns, or underachievement in digital capability development could weigh on margins and capex efficiency, impeding medium
• to long-term profitability.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of £74.085 for Spirax Group based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of £91.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just £60.0.
  
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be £1.9 billion, earnings will come to £245.2 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 28.7x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.7%.
  
• Given the current share price of £70.5, the analyst price target of £74.09 is 4.8% higher. The relatively low difference between the current share price and the analyst consensus price target indicates that they believe on average, the company is fairly priced.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.