08 Mar 2010

Intertek Group plc ("Intertek"), a leading international provider of quality and safety services, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2009.

Strong performance despite difficult market conditions

Year ended 31 December 2009 2008 Growth as reported Growth at constant currency
Revenue £1,237.3m £1,003.5m + 23.3% + 7.0%
Adjusted operating profit¹ £209.0m £164.7m + 26.9% + 6.1%
Adjusted profit before tax¹ £191.5m £155.4m + 23.2%  
Adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ 81.5p 67.1p + 21.5%  
 
Statutory
Year ended 31 December 2009 2008 Growth as reported  
Operating profit £186.7m £147.9m + 26.2%  
Profit before tax £169.2m £138.6m + 22.1%  
Basic earnings per share 72.4p 59.5p + 21.7%  
Dividend per share 25.5p 20.8p + 22.6%  

Highlights

  • Organic revenue growth of 3.5% at constant currency
  • Organic adjusted operating profit¹ growth of 3.7% at constant currency
  • Adjusted operating profit¹ margin increased by 50 bps to 16.9%
  • Operating cash flow of £278.4m, up 43.5%
  • Full year dividend up 22.6%
  • Negotiations are continuing with DNV to acquire their Business Assurance division

¹ Before amortisation of acquisition intangibles of £12.8m (2008: £9.6m), goodwill impairment of £nil (2008: £0.5m) and non-recurring items of £9.5m (2008: £6.7m)

Wolfhart Hauser, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Intertek has produced strong results in a year of challenging economic conditions. This demonstrates the resilience of the Intertek growth model as well as the strength and customer focus of the management and employees. We also generated strong cash flow and have a healthy balance sheet.

As expected, organic growth rates moved to low single digits. We expect to continue growing organically in 2010 at similar levels, with the second half improving on the first. With good market positions, geographic and industry diversification, and many acquisition opportunities the Board is confident that Intertek will grow well in the future, despite the economic environment."

Contacts

For further information, please contact

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

Richard Mountain, Financial Dynamics
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7121
Email: richard.mountain@fd.com

View the 2009 Annual Report  (1.9 MB PDF)

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 25,000 people in more than 100 countries around the world.