Intertek’s trading statement doesn’t entice investments

FTSE 100 quality assurance giant Intertek (LON:ITRK) has reported that revenues for the four months ended 30th April rose by 5.3%, driven by the trade and products arm. Foreign exchange movements also contributed to a 200 basis point increase in operating margins.

Chief executive André Lacroix commented: “We are on track to deliver our 2019 targets of good organic revenue growth at constant rates, with moderate margin expansion and strong cash conversion. Given a good start to the year, we expect good organic revenue growth at constant currency rates in each of our three divisions: Products, Trade and Resources.

The $250 billion global quality assurance industry has attractive structural growth prospects driven by an increased focus of corporations on risk management, global trade flows, global demand for energy, expanding regulations, more complex sourcing and distribution operations, technological innovations, government investments in large infrastructure projects, and increased consumer demand for higher quality and more sustainable products.

We are uniquely positioned to seize these exciting growth opportunities with our Total Quality Assurance Value Proposition that provides a superior service, offering global Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification solutions to our customers across multiple industries through our global network of subject-matter experts and over 1,000 state-of-the-art facilities in over 100 countries“.

Intertek’s share price dropped by 1.43% to 5,112p (as of 14:50 BST).