Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Intertek PLC on Thursday said revenue in the first four months of 2020 declined year-on-year, but it expressed confidence in its outlook for 2020.
The safety testing firm said revenue for the four months ended April was GBP882 million, down 4.6% from GBP924.3 million the year prior. Like-for-like revenue was down 4.9% at constant currency, with its Product unit revenue diving by 6.6% and Trade unit revenue by 5.9%. However the Resources unit saw revenue growth of 2.4%.
Intertek confirmed that it will pay its proposed 2019 final dividend of 71.6 pence, up 6.5% from 67.2p for 2018. The final dividend amount takes the full year payout to 105.8p, up from 99.1p. The significant hike - declared in March - is in line with the company's dividend policy which targets a payout ratio of around 50% or earnings, it said.
Looking ahead, the company said it responded quickly to the Covid-19 crisis by implementing measures to mitigate the extent to which the pandemic would hurt its business, adding that it remains confident in its ability to navigate what is expected to be a "challenging" 2020.
"The exciting structural growth drivers in the USD250 billion global quality assurance market pre-Covid-19 have now been joined by a wide array of new opportunities in many areas. These range from health, safety and wellbeing-oriented quality assurance in the workplace, public spaces and the home, to the growing demand in the healthcare sector for [personal protection equipment], new medical devices and stronger infrastructure. Further, we are seeing the increasing need for risk management across supply chains and more robust protection against online piracy and other cyber threats in a connected world," said Chief Executive Andre Lacroix.
The FTSE 100 stock was up 5.1% at 5,116.00 pence early Thursday in London.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
