Intertek Group PLC (LON:ITRK) has hiked its full-year dividend as rising demand for its inspection, product testing and certification services led to a jump in sales and profits in 2018.
The FTSE 100 group employs 43,000 people and acts as a ‘quality stamp’ for products in healthcare, food and construction by testing them to ensure they meet regulatory standards.
READ: Intertek on track to meet 2018 revenue growth targets
Revenue grew 4.7% on a constant currency basis to £2.80bn in the 12 months ended 31 December, compared to the £2.77bn of sales it racked up last year.
Stripping out currency movements, pre-tax profits soared 8.3% during the year to £456.5mln (2017: £438.8mln), aided by an improving margin which reached a record 17.2% (2017: 16.9%).
In line with its new policy of paying out half of its earnings, Intertek has proposed a full-year dividend of 99.1p, some 39% more than it returned last year.
Net debt spikes
Net debt jumped to £778mln – up £234mln year-on-year – reflecting the four acquisitions and investments it made in 2018.
“Intertek is going from strength to strength, making consistent progress on strategy and performance,” said chief executive André Lacroix.
“We are benefitting from higher demand from our customers for our global Total Quality Assurance solutions in our Products, Trade and Resources divisions.”
He added: “We expect to deliver good organic revenue growth performance at constant currency in 2019, with moderate Group margin expansion and strong cash generation.”