3rd Mar 2020 08:26
(Alliance News) - Intertek Group PLC on Tuesday said its profit was higher in 2019, benefiting from better performances from all divisions as well as an acquisition late in the year, but expressed coronavirus concerns.
Shares in Intertek were up 1.1% at 5,382.00 pence in London in early morning trading.
Intertek, a product testing and quality assurance provider, posted a GBP445.1 million pretax profit for 2019, 10% higher than 2018's profit of GBP404.5 million as revenue climbed 6.8% to GBP2.99 billion from GBP2.80 billion.
Organic revenue growth was 3.3% at constant rates while revenue also rose thanks to Intertek's acquisition of Check Safety First Ltd in December 2019 for a GBP17.1 million consideration, net of cash acquired. This marked Intertek's only 2019 acquisition, compared to four in 2018.
On a divisional basis, Products, Trade, and Resources all reported higher revenue. Products revenue was up 7.1% at GBP1.80 billion from GBP1.68 billion, while Trade was 5.8% higher at GBP679.4 million versus GBP642.1 previously. Resources revenue increased 6.7% to GBP510.9 million from GBP478.9 million.
Intertek increased its annual dividend per share by 6.8% to 105.8p from 99.1p.
However, the company did note that the outbreak of coronavirus in China, which has since spread to other countries, is likely to weigh on its 2020 performance.
Chief Executive Andre Lacroix said: "Prior to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, we were targeting the group to deliver continuous progress in 2020 with broad based good organic revenue growth at constant currency, good organic growth in Products and Trade and robust growth in Resources, moderate margin progression and strong cash conversion.
"However, Intertek is not immune to the impact of the novel coronavirus and our 2020 performance will be affected by the temporary disruption to the supply chains of our clients in China and any impact it might have on global trade activities. It is too early to quantify the impact of the novel coronavirus."
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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