Interim Management Statement - May 17, 2012
17 May 2012
Intertek Group plc ("Intertek"), the leading provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries around the world, today releases its Interim Management Statement for the period since 31 December 2011. Where stated, financial results are for the four month period from 1 January to 30 April 2012 ("period"). All comparative comments in this statement reflect comparisons with the corresponding period during 2011.
At constant exchange rates, year to date organic revenue growth was 9.5%. After taking into account revenue from acquisitions in 2011 and 2012 including the Moody International acquisition, and a slight positive currency effect, total reported revenue grew by 40%.
The Group has had a positive start to the year with the high single digit organic revenue growth being driven by the four largest divisions.
Industry & Assurance, including the acquired Moody business, continued to perform above our expectations, benefiting from demand arising out of new capital projects in energy production and distribution. Intertek and Moody have been successfully integrated and are seeing strong demand from global clients.
Commodities continued to report high organic revenue growth, led by demand for minerals testing at new and existing mining projects. Strong growth from oil cargo inspection in emerging markets was partially offset by weaker inspection work in the US.
In Consumer Goods, more stable market conditions resulted in good organic revenue growth for the division in the period, against the weak conditions of 2011 which arose following the sudden shift of textiles and softlines sourcing away from the coastal regions of China.
Commercial & Electrical reported high organic revenue growth driven by the development of new technologies and products particularly in lighting, telecommunications, home appliances and medical products in developed markets and home appliances in Asia.
Chemicals & Pharma had a slow start to the year in a relatively weak market environment without the support of any new regulations.
The Group's operating profit margin was stable on the prior year with the benefit of margin enhancement initiatives offsetting the dilutive effect arising from a full period of contribution and very strong growth, from the acquired Moody business.
In addition to ongoing internal investment to capture developing growth opportunities, the Group has reviewed a number of external opportunities completing three in-fill acquisitions so far in 2012 for a total cash consideration of £17 million.
There has been no significant change to the Group's financial position in the period since the last reported balance sheet date of 31 December 2011.
Wolfhart Hauser, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"We have made a positive start to the year with good organic revenue and profit growth and a very strong performance from Moody International which we bought last year. We expect our performance this year to be in line with our expectations although we remain alert to any potential rapid change in market conditions which could impact our growth."
The Annual General Meeting of Intertek is held today 17 May 2012, at 1.00pm at The Westbury Hotel, Conduit Street, London, W1S 2YF.
The Group's half year results to 30 June 2012 will be announced on Thursday 26 July 2012.
Contacts
Aston Swift, Intertek
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7396 3400
aston.swift@intertek.com
Richard Mountain, FTI Consulting
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7291
richard.mountain@fticonsulting.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 30,000 people in over 100 countries around the world. Intertek Group plc (LSE: ITRK) is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. www.intertek.com
This Interim Management Statement is prepared for and addressed only to the Company's shareholders as a whole and to no other person. The Company, its directors, employees, agents or advisers do not accept or assume responsibility to any other person to whom this Interim Management Statement is shown or into whose hands it may come and any such responsibility or liability is expressly disclaimed. Statements contained in this Interim Management Statement are based on the knowledge and information available to the Company's Directors at the date it was prepared and therefore the facts stated and views expressed may change after that date. By their nature, the statements concerning the risks and uncertainties facing the Company in this Interim Management Statement involve uncertainty since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. To the extent that this Interim Management Statement contains any statement dealing with any time after the date of its preparation such statement is merely predictive and speculative as it relates to events and circumstances which are yet to occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.