Intertek Group PLC on Friday said revenue grew by a double-digit percentage in the first half of the year and noted margin progression.

In the six months ended June 30, the London-based quality assurance service provider said pretax profit grew by 4.9% to £191.7 million from £182.8 million a year prior, as revenue rose by 10% to £1.64 billion from £1.49 billion the year before. Like-for-like revenue was up 7.1% at constant currency to £1.63 billion from £1.50 billion.

This growth was partly attributed to its acquisitions of SAI Global Assurance, JLA Brazil and Clean Energy Associates LLC, which are ‘performing well’, the company said. Additionally, the recent integration of Controle Analitico, which was purchased in April, is making progress.

Adjusted operating profit was £245.4 million, up 13% at constant rates, and adjusted profit margin was 15%, compared to 14.6% a year prior.

Intertek declared an interim dividend of 37.7 pence per share, up 10% from 34.2p in the first half of 2022.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects to deliver mid-single digit like-for-like revenue growth at a constant currency for 2023 and forecasts financial net debt to be in the range of £630 million to £680 million, a decrease from £737.9 million in 2022.

Chief Executive Officer Andre Lacroix said: ‘We expect to deliver a robust performance in 2023, given the increased demand for our ATIC solutions, the strengths of our portfolio, our superior ATIC customer service, our productivity and cost initiatives, as well as our daily cash flow discipline. We expect the group will deliver mid-single digit LFL revenue growth at constant currency, with margin progression year-on-year, and a strong free cash flow performance.’

Shares in Intertek were up 1.3% at 4,328.00 pence each in London on Friday morning.

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