Intertek results drag shares down

The price of shares in FTSE 100 product testing specialist Intertek (LON:ITRK) has fallen by 3.09% to 5,448p (as 13:15 BST) after posting results for the first six months of 2020. Pre-tax profits for the six months sank by 36.6% as revenues dropped by 7.8% and operating margins declined by 490 basis points. Management said that the company would be well placed to benefit from increase need for quality assurance services in a post-COVID world.

CEO André Lacroix commented: “Over the first six months of the year, the Group delivered a resilient revenue performance , a robust margin and strong cash flow reflecting the strengths of our business model in providing mission-critical services to companies around the world, our disciplined performance management and our strongly cash generative earnings model.

We have announced an unchanged half year dividend of 34.2p per share, based on our strong cash generation, robust balance sheet, the strength of our earnings model and our confidence in the Group’s future growth opportunities.

During the period, we provided uninterrupted customer service to our 300,000+ clients. I am very proud of the way our people have risen to the challenge of supporting our clients through the temporary disruption to their supply chains , while putting the safety of our colleagues and customers first . As an agile and responsive business, we were able to put in place the correct measures on health and safety, customer service, cost controls, cash management and employee engagement during a rapidly evolving situation.

The speed at which the pandemic has unfolded and the lack of visibility on the lifting of lockdown restrictions around the world today continues to make it difficult to assess the full impact of Covid – 19 and to provide guidance for 2020“.