Smiths shrugs off contract delays

Smiths Group, the industrials firm behind airport scanners and a range of medical devices, posted a 25 per cent rise in profits yesterday, despite contract delays at its detection business as governments reviewed their spending.

The FTSE 100 firm said that pre-tax profits rose to 224 million in the six months to 29 January after a 7 per cent rise in revenues to 1.37 billion.