UPDATE 1 — UK's Halma lifts annual margin outlook after acquisitions boost performance

(Adds background, context and revenue forecast from paragraph 2 onwards) Sept 24 (Reuters) — British health and safety device maker Halma raised its forecast on Thursday for annual adjusted operating profit margin, citing a strong first half and the positive impact of recent acquisitions and disposals. The company now expects adjusted operating profit margin between 23.5% and 24% for the year through March 2027, up from its previous forecast of around 22.7%. Halma, which owns around 50 businesses spanning safety, healthcare and environmental technology, completed six acquisitions and disposed of three businesses so far this financial year. Recent growth has been supported by a boom in data centre construction, with one of its light technology businesses serving AI hyperscaler customers. The company maintained its annual organic revenue growth forecast, unchanged from June, when it had warned of slower growth. (Reporting by Neeshita Beura in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((Neeshita.Beura@thomsonreuters.com)