IMI unveils £200m buyback and raises earnings guidance

IMI shares rose to a near seven-year high after the company announced a £200m share buyback and raised its guidance for annual earnings.

After group performance improved in the first quarter, the FTSE 250 company predicted earnings per share of between 81p an 87p a share - up from an earlier estimate of 75p to 82p. Organic revenue rose 7.7% in the three months to the end of March to £421m from a year earlier and 2.6% compared with the first quarter of 2019.

IMI said based on its improving performance it would buy back £200m of shares to make the balance sheet more efficient while leaving "ample capacity" for investment and potential acquisitions. The company also increased its margin guidance, predicting a sustainable margin of 18-20% over time.

IMI shares rose 7.5% to £15.02 at 08:50 BST - their highest point since July 2014.

Roy Twite, IMI's chief executive, said: "We are pleased with the progress that the business has continued to make through the first quarter of 2021 as we accelerated our strategy to deliver sustainable profitable growth. This momentum not only gives us the confidence to raise our guidance for the full year and announce a share buyback programme, but also underpins our belief that IMI can deliver sustainably higher margins."