Intertek Group plc

Intertek reported 2025 revenue of GBP 3.4 billion, up 4.3% at constant currency and 1.1% at actual rates. Operating profit rose 9.3% at constant rates to GBP 620 million, with operating margin at 18.1%, up 90 basis points year over year at constant currency and 70 basis points at actual rates. Diluted EPS was 253.5p, up 10.1% at constant rates and 5.4% at actual rates. Adjusted cash from operations was GBP 762 million and adjusted free cash flow was GBP 352 million. For 2026, the company expects mid-single-digit like-for-like revenue growth, further margin progression, net finance costs of GBP 71 million to GBP 72 million excluding FX, an effective tax rate of 25.5% to 26.5%, minority interest of GBP 21 million to GBP 22 million, CapEx of GBP 150 million to GBP 160 million, and financial net debt of GBP 930 million to GBP 980 million prior to material FX or M&A.

André Lacroix framed 2025 as validation of the AAA strategy, saying EPS has grown faster than revenue and that Intertek is building durable quality growth through mix, pricing, productivity, and disciplined investment. He emphasized broad-based growth across most of the portfolio, strong acquisitions, and the company’s positioning as the premium leader in Quality Assurance with ATIC. His tone was confident and upbeat, especially on 2026 and beyond, where he reiterated confidence in mid-single-digit like-for-like growth, further margin upside toward the 18.5%+ target, and continued strong cash generation.

Colm Deasy highlighted the hard numbers: revenue of GBP 3.4 billion, operating profit of GBP 620 million, margin of 18.1%, and diluted EPS of 253.5p. He also noted adjusted cash from operations of GBP 762 million and adjusted free cash flow of GBP 352 million, both down from the prior-year peak mainly due to translation, lower working-capital change, higher interest and borrowing costs, higher cash tax, and higher CapEx. For 2026 he guided to net finance costs of GBP 71 million to GBP 72 million excluding FX, tax of 25.5% to 26.5%, minority interest of GBP 21 million to GBP 22 million, CapEx of GBP 150 million to GBP 160 million, and net debt of GBP 930 million to GBP 980 million.

Analysts focused on the gap between the November exit rate and the full-year growth outlook, weakness in World of Energy, and whether Corporate Assurance’s slowdown was temporary. Management said the lower November/December exit rate mainly reflected a very tough comparison in World of Energy plus some demand reduction in transportation technology, while Corporate Assurance typically slows at peak capacity and management is expanding auditor capacity against a strong backlog. Questions also covered restructuring and capital allocation; management said 2025 was the fourth year of restructuring, 2026 should see an GBP 8 million total cost-base benefit, and M&A is currently the priority over buybacks because leverage is at the low end of the target range and the pipeline has improved.