LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Berenberg has cut its target price for Intertek from 6,000p to 5,700p but kept a 'buy' rating on the testing and laboratories firm, saying the business is showing "solid growth through macro weakness".
A trading update from the company last month revealed that organic growth was slower than expected in the first quarter, mainly due to the performance of its Caleb Brett business, which is exposed to global fuel trade volumes, particularly oil.

However, the slowdown is likely only temporary, Berenberg predicts, with industry forecasts pointing to an increase in crude oil volumes over the year.

Elsewhere, growth in Intertek's Industry and Infrastructure markets is expected to accelerate due to improvements in building and construction, while there are no signs of weakness in the consumer products sector.

"We think that Intertek is the most cyclical of the testing, inspection and certification companies that we cover, given its more material reliance on trade volumes than its peers," said analyst Carl Raynsford.

"While we reduce our growth expectations for FY25 due to a softer Q1, we still think that the company can achieve over 5% organic growth this year, with the major headwind coming from FX."

The stock was down 0.9% at 4,744p by 1134.

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