Engineering group IMI posted a 68 per cent surge in pre-tax profits for the first half, thanks to a sharp bounce in its Fluid Power division and margin improvements across the group.
Fluid Power suffered last year because it sells sophisticated pneumatic products to, among others, US truck manufacturers. But trading has rebounded since the horror days of early 2009, and IMI's commercial vehicle volumes were up 50 per cent over the six-month period.
The recovery here and in the retail divisions, combined with last year's cost-cutting and an ongoing programme of transferring manufacturing to low-cost sites, pushed the group operating margin up to a record 15.7 per cent. That's despite weak markets for IMI's later-cycle Severe Service business, which sells bespoke valves to power stations.
When: 29/07/10
Price: 766p
Tip performance to date: -12 per cent
