Intertek Group PLC on Friday said it is targeting a full-year margin ‘slightly below’ last year after Covid restrictions held back its China business in the first half of 2022.

It also unveiled the acquisition of Clean Energy Associates LLC, a quality assurance provider serving the solar energy and energy storage sectors. No financial details of the deal were given, but Clean Energy Associated reported revenue of £21.7 million in 2021.

Shares in Intertek were down 3.8% at 4,296.00 pence in London early Friday, the worst performer in the FTSE 100.

Turning to the results, the London-based quality assurance service provider said revenue for the first half of 2022 rose 13% to £1.49 billion from £1.32 billion a year before.

Intertek’s like-for-like revenue growth in the half was 4.9% at constant currencies. Excluding China, growth was 7.1%.

‘The lockdown restrictions have had a significant impact in our China business in the period between March and June, especially in Shanghai,’ the company said.

Pretax profit improved 8.1% to £182.8 million from £169.1 million, despite the firm’s operating margin slipping to 13.2% from 14.0%.

For the full-year, Intertek said it is targeting ‘robust’ like-for-like revenue growth at constant exchange rates and a margin ‘slightly below’ 2021 due to lockdown restrictions in China and investments in growth.

The business in Shanghai has been operating as normal since the start of the month and the China business should deliver ‘good’ growth in the second half. Shanghai represents a quarter of its China business.

Intertek maintained its interim dividend at 34.2p.

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