03 Aug 2009

Intertek Group plc ("Intertek"), a leading international provider of quality and safety services, announces its half year results for the period ended 30 June 2009.

Good results – Resilient growth
Key Performance Indicators H1 09 H1 08 Growth
as reported
Growth
at constant rates
Revenue £622.3m £457.4m 36.1% 10.5%
Adjusted operating profit (1) £103.5m £68.7m 50.7% 13.6%
Adjusted operating profit margin (1) 16.6% 15.0% 160bp 40bp
Adjusted profit before tax (1) £94.2m £62.9m 49.8%    
Diluted adjusted earnings per share (1) 40.2p 26.9p 49.4%    
 
Statutory H1 09 H1 08 Growth as reported
Operating profit £97.0m £64.3m 50.9%
Profit before tax £87.7m £58.5m 49.9%
Basic earnings per share 37.5p 25.1p 49.4%
Interim dividend 8.2p 7.1p 15.5%

 

Highlights

  • Organic revenue growth of 6.1% at constant exchange rates
  • Organic adjusted operating profit(1) growth of 8.5% at constant exchange rates
  • Operating cash flow of £117.1m, up 106.5%
  • Three businesses acquired in first half for a total consideration of £29.0m

1. Before amortisation of acquisition intangibles of £6.5m (H1 08: £4.4m).

 

Wolfhart Hauser, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Intertek has reported an excellent result for the first half of the year and we continue to see good trading in the majority of our businesses, in line with our expectations.

Despite tougher global market conditions, the key business drivers to Intertek's global business remain intact, namely product variety, supply chain complexity, the outsourcing of in-house testing laboratories and increasing demand for safe, environmentally friendly and quality products driven by ongoing regulation and end customers. Supporting our customers as they strive to be more competitive and cost effective underpins this growth. We expect this strategy and customer focus to generate continued sustainable growth.

For the full year we expect to achieve good organic revenue growth, although we anticipate slower growth in the second half. Some of our volume related businesses (around 30% of Group revenues) have been impacted by lower global trade and costs have been aligned accordingly.

We have actively reduced our investment in capital expenditure and new businesses to reflect the uncertain market conditions, providing increased capacity to fund medium or larger acquisitions should suitable opportunities arise."

Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Aston Swift, Investor Relations
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7396 3400
aston.swift@intertek.com

Sophie Kernon, Financial Dynamics
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7225
sophie.kernon@fd.com

Andrew Dowler, Financial Dynamics
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7291
andrew.dowler@fd.com

Analysts' Meeting

There will be a meeting for analysts at 9.30am today at JPMorgan Cazenove, 20 Moorgate, London EC2R 6DA. A copy of the presentation will be available on the website later today.

Corporate website: www.intertek.com

High resolution images of Intertek businesses are available to download, free of charge from the News & Media section of www.intertek.com

About Intertek

Intertek is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world.

From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace.

Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 24,000 people in more than 100 countries around the world.