Highlights:
Organic revenue growth of 3%
Dividend increased by 8%
Strong balance sheet with net debt of £144m
Investments for growth focused on new product development and the emerging markets
Increased resources for M&A
Intention to divest the majority of the Merchandising division
Share buyback programme of up to £175m over the next 12 months
Roberto Quarta, Chairman of IMI, commented:
"IMI has delivered a resilient set of results in 2012. In light of this performance, and our confidence in the future prospects for the business, we are pleased to propose an increase in the full year dividend of 8%.
Whilst the global macro-economic outlook remains mixed, we are confident of delivering further progress in 2013, supported by higher growth in the emerging markets and an improving contribution from recently introduced new products. In the longer term we are committed to a programme of accelerating the convergence of the Group's activities around our sweetspot, through increased investment in sales and engineering, and a focused programme of corporate activity, featuring both acquisitions and disposals."
