IMI Q2 2026 Earnings Report

IMI EPS Results

• Actual EPS: GBX 63.40
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

IMI Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: N/A
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

IMI Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2026
• Date: 7/31/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Friday, July 31, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 3:00AM ET

IMI (LON:IMI) is a global leader in fluid and motion control, engineering bespoke solutions that enhance safety, productivity and sustainability across critical industries in energy, automation and healthcare. We work in close partnership with customers to design, build and service high-performance valves, actuators and control systems that solve complex engineering challenges. Our solutions are a small part of our customers’ systems – but they play a critical role in how those systems perform. By combining deep technical expertise with real customer insight, we deliver solutions that are precisely engineered for impact. Through our One IMI model, we combine commercial excellence, market-led innovation and continuous improvement to scale what works across the business. By sharing best practice, improving every day and staying close to evolving customer needs, we deliver consistent results and long-term value for our customers, communities and the world we serve.

IMI Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Strong first-half performance: Organic revenue rose 5%, organic adjusted operating profit increased 8%, margins expanded 50 basis points to 18.7%, and adjusted EPS grew 13% to £0.634.
• Positive Sentiment: Demand remained robust in key growth markets. Process Automation orders increased 12%, including a £48 million nuclear contract spanning more than a decade; LNG orders rose 56%, while data-center orders climbed to £80 million from £6 million a year earlier.
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and shareholder returns improved materially. Free cash flow increased to £171 million from £30 million, cash conversion reached 96%, the interim dividend rose 10%, and £250 million of the planned £500 million buyback had been completed by June 30.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full-year guidance was reconfirmed rather than raised. IMI still expects mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and adjusted EPS of £1.36–£1.42, while cybersecurity investment, difficult comparisons in the second half, Middle East shipment risks, tariffs, and weak German industrial activity remain potential constraints.

Presentation

[Moderator]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the IMI Plc Interim Results 2026. My name is Nadia, and I'll be coordinating the call today. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. I will now hand over to your host, Roy Twite, Chief Executive Officer, to begin. Please go ahead.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to IMI's 2026 interim results presentation. I am joined here today by our Chief Financial Officer, Luke Grant. Together, we're going to take you through what was a strong first half performance. I'd like to begin by thanking our people. It is a real privilege to lead such a talented and committed team, and this first half performance is a direct reflection of their hard work and their dedication. We delivered 5% organic revenue growth in the first half with growth across all of IMI. Organic adjusted operating profit was 8% higher than the same period last year. Growth Hub continues to deliver with orders up 22% to GBP 78 million, despite a strong prior year comparator. We saw a significant improvement in free cash flow generation. We are committed to deploying this capital for growth and to enhance shareholder returns.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

We returned over GBP 300 million to shareholders in the first half and are declaring another 10% increase in the interim dividend. I am pleased to reconfirm our full year guidance. We are on track to deliver our sixth consecutive year of mid-single digit organic revenue growth, and we continue to expect full year adjusted EPS to be between GBP 1.36 and GBP 1.42. Importantly, excluding any contribution from Truflo Marine, we expect to deliver our typical 45% half one to 55% half two EPS weighting. IMI has been fundamentally transformed since we launched our growth strategy in 2019, delivering a 10% EPS CAGR as we create significant value for shareholders. At the heart of this is the One IMI operating model, our relentless focus on commercial excellence, market-led innovation and continuous improvement, all underpinned by our performance culture.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Supported by the three long-term mega trends of energy, Automation and healthcare, we remain confident in our ability to continue compounding earnings growth over the medium term. Okay. With that, I'm going to hand over to Luke.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Thank you, Roy. Good morning, everybody. I'm pleased to be able to take you through our strong first half performance. Our One IMI operating model continues to drive consistent high-quality results, and the first half of 2026 was no exception. Revenue was 5% higher organically, and organic adjusted operating profit was up 8%. The adjusted operating margin was 50 basis points higher at 18.7%, reflecting strong operating leverage and continued growth in the high margin aftermarket, partly offset by our previously communicated cybersecurity investments. Adjusted basic EPS increased to GBP 0.634, reflecting the strong operational performance and the benefits of our disciplined approach to capital allocation. Cash conversion was 96%, and we saw a significant improvement in the free cash flow generation during the period. Following the strong performance and reflecting our confidence in the business, we're pleased to declare another 10% increase in the interim dividend.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Turning briefly to the revenue and profit bridges. Organic revenue was 5% higher with a modest tailwind from foreign exchange. Adjusted operating profit increased to GBP 217 million, with organic adjusted operating profit up 8% year-over-year. Disciplined execution of the One IMI operating model has delivered a 580 basis point margin expansion since 2019. Taking us to 20% in 2025, we remain confident in further progression over the medium term. Our strong operating leverage means we expect to deliver a drop-through of around 30% over the medium term. Turning to the income statement. As mentioned, we saw good organic revenue and profit growth in the period. The net interest charge was broadly in line with last year at GBP 8.4 million, and the tax rate increased to 26.2%, broadly in line with our guidance for the full year. Adjusted basic EPS increased by 13% to GBP 0.634 in the period.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Looking now at the performance of the platforms and sectors. Automation delivered good growth, with revenue up 5% organically. Process Automation had another strong first half. Order intake was up 12% organically, including a significant GBP 48 million new construction nuclear order, which covers deliveries over more than a decade. New construction orders were up 20% organically, and high margin aftermarket orders were 7% higher. The Process Automation order book at the end of June was 10% higher than the prior year. Industrial Automation organic revenue was 5% higher, principally reflecting improved levels of industrial activity and a softer first-half comparator. Turning to life technology, where organic revenue was also 5% higher. Climate Control organic revenue was 4% higher, reflecting continued demand for our energy efficient and smart connected solutions.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Data center orders were GBP 80 million in the first half, significantly higher than the GBP 6 million in the first half of 2025. Life Science & Fluid Control organic revenue was 5% higher, supported by resilient healthcare demand and a softer first half comparator. We now expect Life Science & Fluid Control organic revenue to be modestly higher in 2026. Transport organic revenue was 8% higher as the heavy duty truck market began to recover. Reflecting improving market conditions, we now expect Transport to deliver mid-single digit organic revenue growth in 2026. The strategic review remains ongoing and the team continues to execute well. Finally, I'd like to provide a quick update on the Middle East. Shipments to the region in the first half were modestly ahead of the expectations we set out in our Q1 trading update.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Our full year expectations for shipments into the region remain unchanged, and our guidance assumes that conditions allow for planned shipments to be delivered by the end of the financial year. Turning now to cash flow, where we delivered a significant improvement during the first half. Adjusted operating cash flow was GBP 208 million, up 32% on the prior period, reflecting the strong profit performance and continued good working capital management. I want to say a big thank you to our commercial and operational teams across the business who continue to manage working capital exceptionally well. Working capital showed a GBP 8 million outflow in the period, much improved on a GBP 42 million outflow in the prior period, and follows on from an inflow in the full year 2025. Free cash flow was GBP 171 million, significantly higher than the GBP 30 million delivered in the first half of 2025.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

This reflects the strong operating cash flow performance together with the non-repeat of the one-off items called out in 2025. We continue to invest in new capacity and capability across IMI with CapEx of GBP 38 million in the first half, representing 1.2x depreciation. Net debt at the end of June was GBP 673 million, with the net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.2x, comfortably within our 1x-2x target range. IMI is a highly cash generative business with a clear and disciplined approach to capital allocation, prioritizing investments in our people, processes, and operations that accelerate organic growth. In the first half, we opened three new world-class facilities and made significant investments in Growth Hub and data and digital across IMI, which are all key enablers of our One IMI operating model.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

We remain committed to a progressive dividend and are very pleased to be declaring a 10% increase in the interim dividend today. We will also pursue targeted bolt-on acquisitions that enhance our positions in attractive long-term growth markets. Since 2019, we have deployed over GBP 400 million into bolt-on acquisitions whilst increasing our fully burdened return on invested capital by 260 basis points to 14%. Our M&A pipeline remains strong and we will continue to seek targeted bolt-on opportunities that complement our organic growth model, providing access to differentiated, scalable technology and expanding our install base and aftermarket positions whilst delivering returns in line with our strict financial criteria. Finally, we will look to return surplus capital to shareholders should net debt to adjusted EBITDA fall sustainably below our 1x-2x target range.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Our GBP 500 million share buyback program announced at our full year results is progressing as planned with GBP 250 million completed as at the 30th of June 2026. By deploying our growing cash flows into organic growth, targeted bolt-on acquisitions, and value enhancing share buybacks, we are confident we can continue our track record of compounding EPS and free cash flow per share growth. Turning now to the outlook. Following our strong first half performance, we are reconfirming our full year guidance. We remain on track to deliver our sixth consecutive year of mid-single digit organic revenue growth in 2026, and we continue to expect full year adjusted basic EPS to be between GBP 1.36 and GBP 1.42. We continue to expect that the adjusted operating margin will be flat to slightly up in 2026, with strong operating leverage offset by our previously communicated cybersecurity investments.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Our guidance assumes that the disposal of Truflo Marine completes in the third quarter of 2026, that shipments to the Middle East for the full year are unchanged from the expectation set out during our Q1 trading update, and that foreign exchange rates do not have a material impact on full-year sales and profits. We are assuming a net interest charge of approximately GBP 20 million, a tax rate of around 26.3%, and a weighted average number of shares of 239 million following completion of the GBP 500 million share buyback program. As Roy previously mentioned, excluding Truflo Marine, we expect our typical H1, H2 EPS profile of around 45%-55%. If completion takes place as assumed, our reported EPS profile is likely to be more H1 weighted, reflecting Truflo Marine's contribution ahead of the disposal. With that, I will hand back to Roy, who'll take you through the strategy update.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thanks, Luke. Since launching our growth strategy in 2019, we have deliberately aligned our business to three long-term megatrends, energy, Automation, and healthcare. These structural drivers provide significant opportunities to create long-term value and will underpin our delivery of profitable growth in the years to come. IMI is a global leader in fluid and motion control with a compelling value proposition. Our solutions typically account for a small share of the total system cost, but have an outsized positive impact on end customer outcomes. This drives growth, customer loyalty, and strong pricing power. It also positions us well to serve the attractive aftermarket, which today represents around 45% of IMI's sales. Our business is built on the strength of our One IMI operating model. By applying a consistent approach rooted in commercial excellence, market-led innovation, and continuous improvement, we are creating significant value for shareholders.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Over half of IMI's sales are directly supported by rising energy demand and energy efficiency, and I wanted to provide an update on how this long-term megatrend is driving sustainable, profitable growth. Firstly, in conventional power, where IMI is a key supplier to the large gas turbine OEMs. We continue to see strong demand in the first half with organic order intake up 24% and new construction actually doubling. This is being driven by widespread electrification and the need for stable, reliable energy to power data centers. Our customers now have multi-year order books that give us confidence in the growth opportunities ahead. Nuclear also continues to be an exciting area for IMI. We won GBP 51 million of new construction orders in the first half, including the GBP 48 million new construction order that Luke mentioned earlier.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

This is one of our largest ever contracts, with revenue to be recognized over more than a decade. We also continued to see strong momentum in the higher-margin aftermarket, with orders up 33% organically year-on-year. Thirdly, LNG. IMI's control solutions play a significant role right across the LNG value chain. As previously highlighted, we are particularly excited about the significant opportunity to support new liquefaction capacity additions. Organic order intake in LNG was up 56% in the first half, with new construction up 67% and aftermarket up 36%. With strong customer relationships and leading technology, we see a clear pathway to sustained growth. Finally, data centers. The rapid expansion of data center capacity is not only driving energy demand, it is also creating an exciting opportunity for Climate Control.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Our innovative solutions play a key role in supporting energy efficiency and thermal management. We won GBP 18 million of orders in the first half, up from GBP 6 million in the first half of 2025. The global pipeline of opportunities continues to grow. Growing the aftermarket is a key strategic priority for IMI. Our aftermarket exposure has expanded from around 35% in 2014 to approximately 45% in 2025, and it is central to how we create significant value for our customers and drive long-term returns for shareholders. Our aftermarket revenues are mission-critical to customers' operations, largely funded through OpEx rather than CapEx, and supported by long-term customer relationships. This gives us recurring revenue at high margins and stronger returns. In Process Automation aftermarket, the aftermarket now accounts for around 60% of orders. As you can see on this slide, we've grown order intake at an 11% CAGR since 2020.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

This growth is underpinned by our install base of more than 200,000 severe service valves, where our parts, upgrades, and services help our customers run their most critical operations safely, efficiently, and profitably. As many of you will be aware, our innovative Retrofit3D technology uses 3D printing to fit our complex designs into installed valves. We are continuously finding ways to improve this process. I am really proud of the innovation coming from our teams. A great example of this is our team in Korea, who have combined our engineering expertise with AI-enabled tools to accelerate the design of our bespoke 3D disc stacks, reducing engineering time by more than 90%. This means we can respond much more rapidly to customers and continue to grow the recurring high margin aftermarket.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

IMI now consistently delivers against our financial framework. We have built a strong track record of compounding earnings growth. Over the last five years, we have delivered average organic revenue growth of 5%, supported by our leading positions in attractive long-term growth markets, and our success in driving commercial excellence and market-led innovation. The adjusted operating margin has expanded to 20%. We continue to see opportunities for further progression over the medium term. Cash conversion remains very strong and our fully burdened return on invested capital is meaningfully higher than our 12% underpin and well above our weighted average cost of capital. None of this would be possible without the more than 10,000 people right across IMI. I want to take this opportunity once again to thank each and every one of them.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Our people and performance culture are the foundation of our One IMI operating model. We have worked hard to build a culture rooted in ownership, customer focus, and innovation. We are continuing to make significant investments in our people to help them grow, develop, and create value for our customers. The image on the left-hand side of this slide is from the recent IMI Way Day, which this year focused on solving our customers' challenges. It really was an inspiring day and a great reminder of the pride and dedication of our teams right across IMI, as our people work together to create great solutions. As you can see on the right-hand side of this slide, this focus on our people and performance culture is delivering real results. Added value per employee has grown by 30% since 2019, while employee engagement remains at very high levels.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Just to close, three key messages to take away today. Firstly, we delivered a strong first half performance with organic growth across IMI, a significant improvement in cash generation, and over GBP 300 million returned to shareholders. Secondly, we remain on track to deliver our sixth consecutive year of mid-single digit organic revenue growth. Thirdly, we are reconfirming our full year guidance. We continue to expect adjusted EPS to be between GBP 1.36 and GBP 1.42. Thank you. I will now hand over to the moderator for the questions and answers.

[Moderator]

Great, thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to remove your question, please press star followed by two. Our first question goes to Christian Hinderaker of Goldman Sachs. Christian, please go ahead.

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Good morning, Roy. Morning, Luke. Thanks for the presentation. I want to start on Process Automation, please. Very strong growth you saw in OE within the power market. I guess interested in your outlook there over the next few years given some of the capacity expansion comments we've heard from the turbine makers. How do you expect that to affect your business? Then also, the aftermarket capture piece. I saw, I think you had 1% growth in the half. I guess there's a comp effect here. But as we think about that expansion in your installed base on OE, when might we see that pick up on the aftermarket side?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Brilliant. That's a great question. Thanks, Christian. Obviously very pleased that conventional power orders doubled in the first half to GBP 64 million, Christian. Really good performance. As you know, our customers that are actually building the power stations have got multi-year order books now. We're very pleased with the medium to long-term outlook for that segment. What I would say is, obviously, it won't continue to double, right? As I said on the last call, this is going to be constrained by the ability to speed up the construction of those power stations. Nonetheless, it's going to be good for quite a few years, I would think, within that sector. On the aftermarket side, you are right, Christian, that just within that segment, within the conventional power segment, aftermarket order's at 1%.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

What we see is that typically a couple of years after the valve is installed, we start to see aftermarket at about 10% of the new construction value on average, Christian. That number can go up a bit if the power station's cycling a lot. It can come down a bit if it's sort of acting as base load. On average, that's what we see. That's what we love, because we've now got something like 206,000 installed valves, severe service valves, not just in power, but across all the segments. That's what's generating that beautiful long-term, high margin, aftermarket stream of revenue that comes through. I would say, just so that everybody's clear on the call, our overall aftermarket orders across Process Automation were actually up 7% in the first half.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Which is great, because that underpins this year and starts to even move into some delivery for next year as well. Yeah, that's where we see the power sector. I think the good news as well is that's conventional power that you focused on, Christian, but obviously nuclear. We won that nice nuclear order, which as I said, will be delivered over more than a decade. It's several reactors over more than a decade. Nuclear aftermarket as well, we saw good strength in the first half, as I said, and that was up 33%, right? We're starting to see nuclear aftermarket improve, and in the longer term, I think we'll see nuclear new construction, as we've been consistently saying, we'll see some good opportunities there. Does that answer your question, Christian?

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

It does, Roy. Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thank you very much.

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Just moving then to in the growth QoQ, I appreciate the comp was a bit easier. I guess Q3, we've then got a tougher comp, can we just sort of think about the underlying demand you're seeing there? Has that improved? How do you expect that to play out through H2?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Sorry, Christian, we just lost the first part of your question there. Which sector?

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Sorry. Life sciences.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Life sciences, life sciences, we've moved up our guidance slightly on that Life Science & Fluid Control sector from sort of stable to modest growth. Yeah, we are seeing some improved demand, I would say, in that sector. It's modest, Christian. I don't want anybody to get carried away. We're not returning to the glory years yet on analytical devices by any means. Yeah, there is, I would say, more consistent growth, modest growth in that sector.

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Understood. Maybe thirdly, a little bit more strategic, in terms of questioning. When we think about your growth initiatives, you've really scaled the Growth Hub initiatives over the years, innovated with the Retrofit3D, and you've obviously got some emerging but higher growth opportunities for Climate Control now in data centers. When we think about your capital allocation priorities, i.e. buyback versus M&A, how do we think about those given you've shown, I would say, good ability to grow in higher growth segments? How are you thinking about M&A and the capacity to move into some of those more attractive growing markets?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. I'll talk a little bit about Growth Hub because I can't resist now that you've asked the question. If you just want to carry on with capital allocation, Luke, after that.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Yeah.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. Growth Hub, fantastic for orders to be up 22% in the first half. We did a brilliant event in California where we had every single sector pitching. Our IMI Way Day, where we involve all 10,000 people, we did what I would call mini sprints to just, again, really focus our whole culture of the company on customers, on finding customer problems, validating customer problems that customers are really prepared to pay to solve. That has created another wave of ideas, Christian. Yeah, investment in organic growth has been and will be our absolute clear priority. We all know that if we can consistently grow organically, the returns on that, the reduced risk on that. Let's face it, the sort of virtuous spiral of opportunities for our people to develop our people, grow our people, and the culture that brings.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Again, we just did our employee survey, and 79% of people said IMI is a great place to work. That's what we want, is just to keep building on that momentum. Because that virtuous spiral we know creates huge value for everybody. Luke, do you just want to talk a little bit about capital allocation?

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

no, I'll really just build on what Roy says. I always say our capital allocation is very purposeful in the way it's laid out. If you think, as Roy said, organic growth is the absolute number one thing we think about when we think about capital allocation. You look at how much we're investing in a business. We're putting record levels of salespeople into the aftermarket and Process Automation, investing in data centers and Climate Control, that's what we're really driving and focusing on. I think as you said with the share price improvement, we definitely look at M&A second from a capital allocation perspective, and we're still looking at exactly what we talked about on the last call. It's things like severe service valve companies with underserviced aftermarket or technology companies that are in nice adjacencies that feed into each sector.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

I think putting more time and effort in M&A has definitely been a focus in recent months, and we're continuing to do that. As we then look at any leftover capital to allocate, we think share buybacks deliver good returns, then also we've continued to progress the dividend at a good clip with very healthy cover.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Good, does that answer your question?

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah.

[Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs]

Yes.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thanks, Christian.

[Moderator]

Thank you. The next question goes to Chit Sinha of JPMorgan. Chit, please go ahead.

[Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan]

Yeah. Hi, good morning, Roy and Luke. Thank you for taking my questions. I've got three, and I'll take them one by one. Just firstly, regarding the unchanged guide, clearly a very strong performance in the first half, and you're seeing very good order momentum in PA as well. I just wanted to get some of the moving parts in H2, which has led to you leaving the guidance unchanged for the year.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Great. Thank you, Chit. Appreciate that. Yeah. Chit, I think what everybody should understand is that last year was quite an unusual shape because of what happened with cyber, right? First half we were hit, second half we did a lot of catch up. What that meant was in the first half of last year, we grew about 2%, actually it's just slightly less than 2%, and in the second half we grew 9%, right? In terms of comparatives, it's an unusual effect this year. What I always check is obviously both comparatives, but then sequentially. When we look sequentially, if we strip out Truflo Marine, we're at our standard 45%-55%, half one to half two on EPS, and that would get us to about where consensus is, which is about GBP 1.40, GBP 1.405, something like that.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Chit, that makes a lot of sense for us given what's happening in the world. Clearly, externally in the external markets, there's a lot going on. Obviously, we've got the Middle East, but we've also got difficult German industrial production. We've got tariffs. There's various moving parts. What we feel consensus, given all of these effects, is in about the right place.

[Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan]

Very clear. Then my second question is just on Middle East as well. In the last update, I believe you said that there's about a maximum of GBP 30 million orders that might be a risk of being pushed out. It seems like from your comments that there's been positive development in the half. Could you please provide a bit more color on the latest there, please? Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yes, Chit. Obviously, on the last call, literally things were just evolving, weren't they? Just literally a few days. I'd say you're absolutely right. We've given out the numbers, everybody knows what our numbers are for the Middle East. I do feel a bit more confident now about delivering the year. Just recently, Luke and I have just checked July shipments. They are bang in line with our plan, Chit. Despite the sort of raised events that were happening in July, it does seem to us that customers really want our spare parts in particular, particularly the aftermarket parts. We're seeing good shipments. I would say yes, there is still a GBP 30 million risk, but it's a much reduced risk than when I last talked to you.

[Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan]

Great news. Thank you. Then finally, just on Industrial Automation, maybe a bit more color here. What is the 60-day moving average looking like? Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thank you. Industrial Automation obviously did well in the first half, but that was against a softer comparator because of cyber. Still nice to see it growing at 5%. Team's doing well, working really hard. That is a very high mix business where you're supplying a whole series of components to make a system, and therefore the supply chain complexity is high, and we've been investing to reduce the supply chain complexity and effectively improve response to customers. In the second half of last year, though, Chit, obviously what we're going to see is a much harder comparator because there was catch-up as we went through the cyber event. In terms of our 60-day moving average, we've done our best to sort of normalize that. Luke's worked hard on the numbers.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

I think, the way I would characterize it is that it's slightly up, sort of 2% up, as we go into the second half. That number will vary a bit now, though, Chit, honestly, as we go into the sort of European holiday season. Just to give you a rough idea, that's about where it is at the moment on orders. That's orders, obviously.

[Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan]

Sorry, just to follow up, do you mind providing a bit more color just geographically in terms of what you're seeing?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Absolutely. Geographically, Europe's pretty flat, and that's dragged down by Germany. Other parts of Europe, not so bad. America's slightly up, around sort of 3% up. Asia Pacific is up closer to double digits. It's only 15% of Industrial Automation, but Asia Pacific is actually quite strong at the moment.

[Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan]

Thank you so much.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thanks, Chit.

[Moderator]

The next question go to Tore Fangmann of Bank of America. Tore, please go ahead.

[Tore Fangmann, Analyst at Bank of America]

Perfect. Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. Only two left from my side. First would be on your data center growth. If I remember correctly, you'd indicated recently, another around like 50-ish% of growth this year. Now you've delivered already 200% growth in the first half. Could you speak a bit more about the opportunity here, what you're seeing? Maybe with this, it really seems like you're very quickly increasing your market share. Any further details would be super helpful. Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

All right. Well, thanks, Tore. On data centers, we said on the last call we thought we'd probably do about GBP 30 million of sales this year. We've done GBP 18 million in the first half. We think it'll probably be slightly better than GBP 30 million now. It is a little bit lumpy, as you can imagine. I think I talked on the last call about you can get orders of GBP 6 million and whether they fall in this year or next year is a bit of an issue. I'm not sure whether we're taking share. I think we're doing well and we're holding our own in what is a rapidly growing market. We have got a series of new product launches as we get towards the end of the second half as well, Tore, as Christian was talking about earlier with the Growth Hub.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah, we remain pretty happy with where we are on data centers, but we do realize there's more to go for in the future as well.

[Tore Fangmann, Analyst at Bank of America]

Perfect. Thank you. Then just the second one would be on Transport. Appreciate you're still having a review of this segment as the total. Does this change, given that we see very strong organic growth, especially in the North American truck market and also a decent outlook into the second half? Are you still committed to separate this potentially from the rest of the group?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

It's still under strategic review, I would say, Tore. My congratulations to the team there because they are really improving that sector. You saw the cash performance in the half, and Transport is overweight producing cash. Really, it's a phenomenal team. As I said, it's almost two years ago now, where the new team started coming in and they're ex-passenger car people and they're not only helping Transport actually, Tore, they're helping other parts of the business as well, which I really appreciate. Just to give you one number, they got their global quality to nine parts per million. That is properly world-class. It's not just improving stock turns. It's right across the operational performance of the business. As you know, the target for them is very clear. It's to get above average return on invested capital for IMI.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

They are going full speed to do that. The strategic review is still on and all things will be considered. No, it's good progress in the first half from Transport.

[Tore Fangmann, Analyst at Bank of America]

Very much appreciate the color. Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

The next question go to Stephan Klepp of BNP Paribas. Stephan, please go ahead.

[Stephan Klepp, Analyst at BNP Paribas]

Yeah. Hi, good morning, everyone. I have three questions. The first one is for clarification on nuclear. That big deal, GBP 48 million, this is conventional nuclear, as I understand. How is your pipeline looking into more modular reactors? And particularly if you think about the success that Rolls-Royce has in winning now three countries with projects, and how set are you in that setup? Is it more or less that you will help Rolls-Royce to more or less build out the franchise? The second question is on your order funnel in Process Automation. I think we all understand that power is carrying the business quite a lot at the moment. Nuclear is really good. What does it take for the other areas to come back? What do you see there in the funnel, in your pipeline? How's that building up?

[Stephan Klepp, Analyst at BNP Paribas]

The last one is probably a very boring one, yeah, looking ahead, your medium-term framework was put in place in the second half of 2023. What do you want us to expect going forward? More of the same, of the good execution because you're executing really, really well? Is there any change factors that we should expect going forward with regard to your medium-term outlook?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Right. Good set of questions. Thank you, Stephan. Appreciate that. The nuclear is conventional. It's not SMR, that order. That you know. On SMR, yeah, we remain very upbeat about that. Of course, I'm not going to talk about a particular customer. That's very commercially sensitive on this call, Stephan. Just to say that SMRs, yeah, we are well-placed. Our technology is very well-placed for SMRs, not just in the U.K., but more globally than that as well. If SMR becomes a viable technology, we would be very pleased with that, Stephan. On Process Automation, obviously the big thing is the aftermarket, right? And that's 60% of our business, and aftermarket orders are up 7%. That's really pleased. On the new construction side, you've got power, we've got nuclear, we've got LNG, remember as well, going great guns. Gas generally is good for us.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

We think gas over oil is good for the medium term, Stephan. We're well-placed with gas in Process Automation. The parts that haven't been doing so well, I don't think it will surprise anybody, on the new construction side is downstream and petrochem. That's the bit that's been softer. Downstream oil, I think, is going to be tricky. I'm not expecting any big increase there. For us, the downstream opportunity is more in the aftermarket and it's more around upgrade. That's what we're really excited about there, and we've done very well then. I think, as we look forward into the future over the next few years, there'll be more upgrades in that area. Then the framework. Yeah, delighted, right? That framework in 2023.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

We were looking at some stats from one of the big investment banks, the percentage of companies that do compound EPS, more than just 5%, actually, as you know, Stephan, we've done it 10% over that period. The percentage of companies that do 5%+ over six years, which hopefully we'll do this year, is around 2%, Stephan. For us, there's no fancy tricks here. This is about running a first-class engineering company, investing in the future, creating innovation, staying super close to customers, making sure that we don't waste a penny, that we solve their problems, that they're prepared to pay for, we create value and then we cap- to that value. We want to be the world's best engineering company in terms of that value creation, value capture, and that's what we're going to do. Yeah, there's not going to be any big breakouts.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Of course, there will be hopefully some really nice bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate that journey. Really, the core of our business is organic growth, high quality organic growth, and that investment growth cycle, continuing that. That's what we're about.

[Stephan Klepp, Analyst at BNP Paribas]

Now, super. One follow-up just on the cash conversion. You're doing really well, particularly the first half was strong. 90%+, is that just a bit conservative going forward, actually?

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. I think 90%+ is still our base, really, because we still want to invest CapEx to depreciation sort of north of one times, at least sort of 1.2x through a cycle. Typically, as we grow, we will need to build inventory working capital as we go. I think sort of thinking in that 90%+ range is about right for us.

[Stephan Klepp, Analyst at BNP Paribas]

Okay. Super. Thank you, guys.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Thank you, Stephan.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

The next question goes to Andrew Douglas of Jefferies. Andrew, please go ahead.

[Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies]

Good morning, gents. Just two quick ones from me, please. In terms of the nuclear order, can you tell us what region was that in, and are there multiple nuclear opportunities? I suspect it's not just one country who's looking at their nuclear opportunity. Secondly, just going back to the question on M&A. It's been a real challenge for you guys from a multiple perspective. The areas in which you are focusing are not going to be seeing much multiple compression, I don't think, over the next few years. If anything, it's probably getting worse. Do you guys need to think slightly differently about how you do M&A, about the multiples that you're paying, maybe more synergistic M&A? Is it just going to be more of an opportunistic opportunity to do M&A, and then buybacks if you can't?

[Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies]

I'm slightly struggling to see how anything fundamentally changes from an M&A perspective.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. That's a really good question. I'll let Luke talk about M&A in a moment. I'll just start. The nuclear order was in Europe, Andy, just to clear that one up for you. I think over the next few years, there'll clearly be more new construction opportunity in nuclear. I think you know, if you look at some of the nuclear power stations, these are big projects, right? They are sort of 10-year type projects. It will come over the next few years. This particular order is for a whole series of reactors, as I said, which we will deliver over more than a decade, Andy, right? The fact that this big order has come all together, that's the way the customer wants to do it. That's great for us. We love that in our order book, obviously. Nice to win that one.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

I would say that, nuclear will happen over the next few years. I wouldn't say that there's going to be other huge orders directly upon us. It's very exciting for the sort of medium term. Luke, do you want to talk about M&A?

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. More than happy to. I think from an M&A perspective for us, I think I'm not too concerned with what you're saying, because I think if you remember really the M&A process we run, and we have a wide net of opportunities we look at. We then typically build relationships with those companies over a multi-year period. It's not something that just happens overnight. Typically, when we've done that, we've been able to build good relationships, even maybe work with them commercially ahead of a potential purchase, and then sort of move forward from there, and had a long success of bringing companies in. Many of the sort of founders or senior members of those management teams are still working for IMI years and years down the line. I think from our perspective, it's just about investing more time in doing that.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

The more that we do that, the more opportunities that will come. We haven't been sort of sat on our hands in recent years. We've been involved in process. We've looked at different things. I think to your point, I don't really like talking about multiples and stuff because there's always adjustments, lots of different stuff. We really just focus on sort of cash returns over a long period for our shareholders. We talk about making sure they're in excess of WACC after year three, and then sort of above our 12% ROIC underpin after year five, and that's what we're really focused on, and we won't step away from that discipline.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Yeah. Some of the recent acquisition deals, Andy, obviously, we've looked at and some of them have got a cash return of less than 3% on day one.

[Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies]

Yeah.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

To get above WACC, you've got to treble profits, right, in a reasonable period of time to get above WACC. You are right, Andy. If other people are prepared to pay that, we've really got to see where that's coming from, right? Because we certainly are all about increasing shareholder value. We're certainly not about destroying it. You are right. The competitive environment slightly is a bit baffling. For us, the target, though, has to We've done six acquisitions. The target has to continue to be those sort of preferably privately owned bolt-ons. Doesn't have to be privately owned. But those sort of bolt-ons where we can see where us plus the acquisition equals a lot more than the sum of its parts.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

I think we've clearly had some of those. You all remember over the last decade, companies like IMI Remosa or IMI Orton, IMI Z&J, where as Luke said, suddenly we could unlock the aftermarket, and the value accretion has just been superb.

[Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies]

Perfect. One just quick follow-up, just a slight follow-up to Stephan's question. Margins are, I think the guidance was flat to slightly up in the current year, given the investment in cybersecurity. Going forward, there's no reason why margins can't continue to tick up towards that 22% number that you talked about 18 months ago. Is that still fair in your thought process?

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

You're absolutely right, Andy. I think, as we said on the call, right, the sort of baseline dropped through for us because gross margins are now getting close to 50%, right? Which is great as we've reorganized the manufacturing footprint, as we've really been relentless on that continuous improvement drive. You saw the productivity numbers in the presentation. As we continue on that journey, what it means is that even after we invest fully in growth, which as I said is our number one priority, we drop through, generally speaking, more like 30% than 20%. If you run the maths on that over a five year period, you get to around 22% margin. Acquisitions, all this stuff can alter that position, right? From where we are today, let's say the organic business, we would expect to do that sort of profile, 30% drop through.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Of course, if we need to invest, like we certainly did need to invest in cyber, we'd always announce that and explain that. You're right. Over a five-year period, that's the trend we would expect.

[Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies]

Perfect. Well done, guys. Thank you.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Brilliant. Thanks, Andy.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

Thank you. That's all the questions that we have time for today. I will hand back to Roy for any closing comments.

[Roy Twite, CEO at IMI Plc]

Oh, that's great. Well, thanks. Great questions. I got to say, I'll repeat what I said at the beginning. I'm really proud to present these half year results, and just want to thank again the people across IMI, the 10,000 people that contributed to this first half. Thanks, everyone.

[Luke Grant, CFO at IMI Plc]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

Thank you. This now concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining, and you may now disconnect your lines.

Participants

Executives

• Roy Twite, CEO
• Luke Grant, CFO

Analysts

• Moderator
• Christian Hinderaker, Analyst at Goldman Sachs
• Chit Sinha, Analyst at JPMorgan
• Tore Fangmann, Analyst at Bank of America
• Stephan Klepp, Analyst at BNP Paribas
• Andrew Douglas, Analyst at Jefferies