Crane NXT Co, a maker of industrial technology products, including those for the gaming sector, reported a 19.5 percent year-on-year increase in fourth-quarter net sales, to US$476.9 million.
The company’s operating profit for the three months to December 31 stood at US$79.6 million, up 12.4 percent from a year earlier.
Fourth-quarter net income attributable to shareholders declined by 16.7 percent year-on-year, to US$48.0 million, according to a Wednesday announcement.
The firm said fourth-quarter net sales performance was “driven by the sales benefit” from the acquisition in May 2025 of De La Rue Authentication Solutions, a supplier of security and authentication technologies. Such sales contribution was estimated at US$43.6 million.
Crane NXT added that its performance for the reporting period was affected by “higher manufacturing costs, unfavourable product mix and the dilutive impact of acquisitions, partially offset by productivity gains and cost-saving actions”.
Crane NXT declared a first-quarter 2026 dividend of US$0.18 per share, an increase of approximately 6 percent over the prior-year period. The dividend is to be paid on March 11.
The group’s Crane Payment Innovations (CPI) business – including its cashless technology offerings – recorded net sales of US$216.0 million in the three months to December 31, up 0.5 percent from a year ago, driven by favourable foreign-exchange gains.
The segment’s operating profit rose by 25.2 percent year-on-year, to US$62.2 million, “driven by favourable pricing, productivity gains and cost-saving actions, partially offset by unfavourable product mix,” Crane NXT said.
Fourth-quarter net sales in the security and authentication technologies (SAT) business rose 41.6 percent year-on-year, to US$260.9 million, while the segment’s operating profit stood at US$37.7 million, a 0.8 percent increase from a year earlier.
“In 2025, we made significant progress evolving our portfolio and are accelerating organic growth while maintaining margins and strong free cash flow,” said Aaron Saak, Crane NXT’s president and chief executive, in prepared remarks.
He added: “In the fourth quarter, we closed our initial equity investment in Antares Vision, expanding our portfolio into the attractive life sciences and food and beverage sectors, and are on track to complete the acquisition in 2026.”
Crane NXT announced in mid-September a “definitive agreement” to acquire a circa 30 percent stake in Antares Vision SpA at a price of EUR5.00 (US$5.94) per share, for a total consideration of approximately EUR120 million.
After closing that first acquisition, Crane NXT will launch a mandatory tender offer in Italy for the remaining publicly traded shares of Antares Vision at the same price of EUR5.00 per share.
Crane NXT reported full-year 2025 net sales of nearly US$1.66 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.4 percent, with core sales growth of 0.7 percent. Operating profit stood at US$246.7 million, down 8.2 percent from 2024.
The firm provided guidance for its 2026 performance, expecting sales growth of between 4 percent and 6 percent, with sales from CPI expected to remain flat.
Crane NXT expects adjusted earnings per share (EPS) in 2026 to be in the range of US$4.10 to US$4.40. In full-year 2025, it achieved adjusted EPS of US$4.06, compared with US$4.26 in the previous year.
