Intertek's third-quarter revenue rose 7% at constant currency to £941.8 million, and the testing group kept its 2026 outlook while confirming its takeover by EQT remains on track to complete by early 2027.
Intertek reported third-quarter revenue of £941.8 million on Wednesday, up 7% at constant currency, and kept its full-year outlook unchanged as its agreed takeover by private equity firm EQT moved closer to completion.
Like-for-like revenue, which strips out acquisitions and disposals, rose 6.4% in the quarter, faster than the 4.4% recorded in the second quarter. Revenue for the nine months to September reached £2.7 billion, up 6.4% at constant currency. Consumer Products was the fastest-growing division, with like-for-like revenue up 9.8%, followed by Industry and Infrastructure at 9.2% and Health and Safety at 7.5%. Corporate Assurance grew 4.3%, while World of Energy, the oil, gas and fuels division, slipped 0.6% like-for-like.
The company said the EQT acquisition, which shareholders have approved, was on track to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, subject to remaining regulatory approvals. Because of the bid, its guidance is formally a profit forecast under the Takeover Code, and the board confirmed that forecast remains valid.
The trading statement itself gives the divisional breakdown used here, and two independent summaries of it agree on the headline figures: £941.8 million of quarterly revenue, 7% growth at constant currency and 6.4% like-for-like growth. The company also guided to net finance costs of £69 million to £70 million for 2026 and year-end net debt of £800 million to £850 million, and it lowered full-year expectations for Health and Safety to mid-single-digit growth and for World of Energy to stable.
The result matters for two reasons. First, it shows demand for testing and quality assurance holding up as supply chains grow more complex. Second, it removes one uncertainty hanging over the EQT deal: a trading update that missed expectations could have complicated a takeover already awaiting regulatory clearance.
The next step is regulatory approval, not another trading update, and completion in either the final quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027 would end Intertek's run as a listed company.