UPDATE 1-Halma profit rises; ups dividend

June 22 (Reuters) – British safety equipments group Halma (HLMA.L) reported a 9 percent rise in full-year adjusted pretax profit, helped by cost cuts, and said it looked forward to the new year with confidence.

The company, which makes smoke detectors and automatic door sensors, also raised its final dividend by 8.6 percent to 5.19 pence, amounting to a total dividend of 8.50 pence.

“Coming into 2010/11 we have greater momentum than a year ago, particularly in terms of order intake, and are well positioned to achieve growth,” Chief Executive Andrew Williams said in a statement.

For the year to April 3, Halma posted an adjusted pretax profit of 86.2 million pounds ($127.2 million), compared with 79.1 million pounds a year ago.

Revenue rose marginally to 459.1 million pounds.

Halma ended the year with net cash of 9 million pounds.

Shares of the company closed at 271 pence on Monday on the London Stock Exchange. ($1=.6775 Pound) (Reporting by Aditi Samajpati in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Halma India appoints Mahadev Dhuri as India sales manager for Ophthalmic Specialists Keeler and Volk

Mumbai, Sept 17 (ANI/Business Wire India) — Halma India, the Mumbai-based hub office of Halma p.l.c., has appointed Mahadev Dhuri as India sales manager for two of its ophthalmic companies, Keeler Limited and Volk Optical Inc.

The two companies are world leaders in their respective fields. Keeler, based in the UK, manufactures products such as direct and indirect ophthalmoscopes, non-contact tonometers and slit lamps, while Volk Optical, based in the USA, is a specialist in patented double aspherical optics.

Based in Mumbai, Mahadev will serve Keeler and Volk customers and distributors throughout India, offering educational and sales support for both companies’ complete product lines.

He will work closely with doctors and facilities to help them select, use and install diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical ophthalmic instruments and accessories to facilitate the growth of ophthalmology in India.

He will also continue to develop the Indian distributor networks, training new and existing distributors, and increasing the company’s conference and tradeshow presence.

Mahadev, a trained biomedical engineer, joins Halma from Toshbro Medicals, a leading Indian specialist selling German and US medical instrumentation equipment into India.

Prior to that he spent eight years with Larsen and Toubro Limited developing the company’s medical equipment business across western, central and northern India. (ANI)