Quality assurance firm Intertek Group Plc reported a solid H1 performance on Friday, with growth across divisions and continued investment in high-margin segments helping drive profitability.
Intertek said H1 revenues rose 4.5% at constant currency to £1.67bn, while like-for-like growth was led by its consumer products and corporate assurance units. Adjusted operating profits climbed 9.7% to £276.3m, and earnings per share rose 12.6% at constant rates
Margins improved by 80 basis points to 16.5% and the FTSE 100-listed group also said it had maintained strong cash conversion at 118%, generating £266m in adjusted operating cash flow.
Recent acquisitions, including TESIS in Brazil, performed well, contributing to growth in high-margin areas. Return on invested capital improved to 22.5%, up 170bps.
Looking ahead, Intertek said it was on track to meet medium-term targets, including mid-single digit revenue growth and margins above 18.5%.
Chief executive André Lacroix said: "Once again, this demonstrates the company's ability to improve its performance on a sustainable basis and consistently, across all our key financial metrics with H125 being the ninth consecutive six-month period of mid-single digit LFL revenue growth and the fifth consecutive six-month period of double-digit EPS growth at constant currency."
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com