Engineering firm Smiths Group confirms CEO appointment

(Reuters) - Smiths Group Plc (SMIN.L), a British engineering conglomerate, confirmed the appointment of Andrew Reynolds Smith as its chief executive effective Sept. 25.

Present CEO Philip Bowman will step down on Sept. 24 but remain on garden leave until the expiry of his notice period on Dec. 31, the company said.

Smiths, which also announced its annual results on Wednesday, said it expected operating margins at its largest division, John Crane, to be in the lower half of a previously disclosed medium-term range of 22 to 25 percent for the coming year.

Smiths said revenue slipped 2 percent to 2.89 billion pounds ($4.44 billion) in the year ended July 31, in line with analysts expectations. Headline operating profit rose 1 percent to 511 million pounds.

Shares in the company were up 2.6 percent at 1056 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Revenue at John Crane, whose clients include BP Plc (BP.L) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), fell 4 percent to 905 million pounds for the year, hurt by a decline in energy prices, and currency movement.

The John Crane unit makes mechanical seals, seal support systems, engineered bearings, power transmission couplings and specialised filtration systems.

($1 = 0.6512 pounds)

(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)