Intertek shares jump on £350m buyback, dividend hike

(Sharecast News) - Intertek has hiked its full-year dividend and launched a £350m share buyback programme to reward shareholders after a strong 2024 performance, with results helped by recent acquisitions. The laboratory testing and certification business also raised its medium-term margin target after achieving its current target faster than expected.

Intertek delivered revenues of £3.39bn for 2024, up 1.9% on the year before but 6.6% higher at constant currency. Like-for-like growth came in at 6.3% at constant currency, in line with the "mid-single digit" guidance.

Margins increased by 100 basis points to 17.4%, driven by mix, pricing, operating leverage, cost control and productivity, more or less achieving a target of 17.5% set in 2023. Pre-tax profit was up 15.4% at constant currency at £548m.

"The acquisitions we have made over the last five years in the high growth and high margin segments are adding real value to the Intertek portfolio and have contributed £207m to the 2024 revenue and delivered a margin of 25.1%," said chief executive André Lacroix.

Looking ahead, Intertek is now targeting a medium-term margin of 18.5%+ to reflect strong revenue growth and its investments in high-growth and high-margin markets.

The full-year dividend was lifted 40.1% year-on-year to 156.5p.

Given its confidence in future growth opportunities and leverage position, it would undertake the share repurchase plan this year and expects buybacks to "remain a core element of our capital allocation policy and to recur regularly".

Intertek's shares were up 7.5% at 5,540p in early deals on Tuesday.