LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in British testing firm Intertek Group (L:ITRK) jumped more than 9 percent in early trade after it posted an improvement in first-half organic growth and maintained its full year guidance.
Intertek, which tests anything from oil to children's toys to check they comply with regulatory standards, said its constant currency organic growth rate improved by 170 basis points sequentially from the second-half 2014 rate.
Pretax profit rose to 139.1 million pounds in the first half of its financial year, compared 119.8 million pounds a year earlier.
Shares in the company rose more than 9 percent in early trade and were 6.7 percent higher at 2612 pence by 0730 GMT (0830 BST), making it the highest riser on the FTSE 100 (FTSE) index.
The company has suffered over recent months due to a drop in business from some of its oil and gas customers this year as well as challenging market conditions in its minerals business.
Analysts on average expect Intertek to post pretax profit of 297.31 million pounds, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of 17 analysts.