IMI plc (LSE:IMI) delivered a positive first-quarter trading update, reporting mid-single-digit organic constant currency sales growth while maintaining its full-year guidance.
The engineering group said organic constant currency sales increased 5% year-on-year during the quarter, with reported sales growth reaching 6%.
Process Automation delivered organic constant currency sales growth of 6%, although orders declined slightly by 1% against a particularly strong comparative period. Industrial Automation sales also rose 6%, benefiting from recovery following disruption caused by a cyber incident in the prior year period.
Life Technology reported organic constant currency sales growth of 4%. Within the division, Climate Control sales increased 4%, supported by continued demand from data centre and liquid cooling applications.
Life Science and Fluid Control sales grew 1%, with the company citing resilient healthcare demand and signs of stabilisation across life science device markets.
The Transport division delivered particularly strong performance, with organic constant currency sales rising 9%. Management also highlighted operational improvements in working capital resulting from an ongoing strategic review within the business.
IMI said the conflict in the Middle East has had only a limited effect on operations so far, noting that the impact on orders and revenue has not been significant. The region accounts for roughly 6% of group sales, mainly within the Process Automation segment.
The company reaffirmed its full-year earnings per share guidance range of 136p to 142p and said it remains on track to deliver mid-single-digit organic constant currency sales growth for the year. Current guidance assumes planned shipments to Middle Eastern customers will proceed as expected before year-end.
More about IMI plc
IMI plc is a UK-based engineering company specialising in precision fluid and motion control technologies for industrial applications. The group operates across sectors including process automation, industrial automation, climate control, transport and life sciences, supplying mission-critical components and systems to customers worldwide.
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