IMI PLC (LSE:IMI) shares rose 6.5% to 2,558p on Thursday after the engineering group reported a sharp rise in third-quarter sales and reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
The FTSE 100-listed fluid and motion control company said organic revenue grew 12% year-on-year in the three months to September, leaving it 5% higher year to date, driven by broad-based growth across its business divisions.
Chief executive Roy Twite hailed the “excellent performance,” highlighting especially strong demand in Process Automation, where revenue surged 26% in the quarter and is now 14% higher for the year.
Rising global energy demand and a focus on high-margin aftermarket sales helped lift profitability, while orders in Industrial Automation also benefited from catch-up shipments following a first-quarter cyber incident.
Life Technology, which includes the Climate Control and Life Sciences businesses, grew 4% in the quarter, boosted by energy-efficient building products and data centre cooling systems.
Life Science and Fluid Control saw a 13% quarterly increase, while Transport revenues declined 9%, reflecting wider weakness in the heavy-duty truck market.
IMI expects to deliver mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for the full year, marking its fourth straight year of expansion, and continues to target adjusted earnings per share between 129p and 136p.
Twite said the group’s strong balance sheet and cash generation provided flexibility to invest further in growth, pursue bolt-on acquisitions and return capital to shareholders.