Intertek Group Regulatory News (ITRK)

11 Dec 2007 07:01

Intertek Group PLC11 December 2007 11 December 2007, 7:01am (UK)Pre-close Trading Statement Intertek Group plc ("Intertek"), the leading international provider of qualityand safety services to a wide range of industries, today issues a trading updateahead of its full year results ending 31 December 2007, which will be announcedon 10 March 2008. Intertek's strong first half performance has continued into the second half.Organic revenue and operating profit growth, at constant exchange rates,continues to be strong, supplemented by a significant contribution from theacquisitions made during the year. The Consumer Goods division has performed well and is benefiting particularlyfrom the high demand for toy testing in Asia, following the recent recallnotices. Intertek has taken a leading role in supporting major brands andindustry players to provide solutions for these issues. In the Oil, Chemical & Agri division, all five Analytical Services businesslines are performing well and this continues to drive the division's profitgrowth. Intertek continues to be successful in winning new business fromindustry both through additional large multi-year contracts and additionaltesting services. Oil cargo inspection continues to perform well driven by thecontinuing high demand for crude oil and refined products. The Commercial & Electrical division continues to generate the majority of itsorganic revenue growth from Asia where Intertek is the market leader inproviding quality and safety services for home appliances exported to theEuropean and US markets. Extra capacity has been added in North China to supportcontinuing growth in the region in the year ahead. North America is alsoperforming well, benefiting from the increasing acceptance of the ETL mark. The Government Services division is expected to have slightly reduced revenue in2007 due to the termination of the Nigerian pre-shipment inspection contract inMarch 2006. The Ecuador pre-shipment inspection contract is expected to terminate during the first quarter of 2008. The key drivers of demand for the Group's services remain strong. Global tradegrowth continues to run at considerably higher levels than GDP growth. Inaddition, regulation, quality and safety requirements continue to increasearound the world, and the rising number of brands and variety of products beingmanufactured, all underpin Intertek's growth. Product variety, as opposed tomanufacturing or shipment volumes, is a key driver of growth for Intertek. Today Intertek announced as of 1 January 2008, Mark Loughead will become ChiefOperating Officer of the Group and an Executive Director on the Board. Thisappointment will further strengthen Intertek's ability to capture growth andutilise its resources more effectively. To better capture rapid growth opportunities in certain sectors and to increasethe focus on customers in their specific industries, from 1 January 2008Intertek will be organised into seven divisions: Consumer Goods; Commercial &Electrical; Analytical Services; Minerals; Oil, Chemical & Agri Cargo;Industrial Services and; Government Services. Despite the continued weakness of the US dollar, Intertek expects to achieve astrong full year performance in line with management's expectations. -ends- ContactsAston SwiftTelephone: +44 (0) 20 7396 3400aston.swift@intertek.com Richard Mountain / Susanne Yule, Financial DynamicsTelephone: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113richard.mountain@fd.com / susanne.yule@fd.com Notes to Editors ABOUT INTERTEK Intertek (LSE: ITRK) is the leading international provider of quality and safetyservices to a wide range of global and local industries. Partnership withIntertek brings increased value to customers' products and processes, ultimatelysupporting their success in the global market place. Intertek has theexperience, expertise, resources and global reach to support its customersthrough its extensive network of laboratories and offices, with over 20,000 people in more than 100 countries around the world. www.intertek.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange