LONDON, March 9, 2026, 23:43 GMT
- IMI kicked off the initial £250 million phase of its £500 million share buyback this Monday, appointing J.P. Morgan Securities to oversee the process. Shares bought back under the programme will be cancelled.
- IMI is looking at a sixth consecutive year of mid-single-digit organic growth, with 2025 revenue up 4% and an adjusted operating margin landing at 20.0%.
IMI kicked off its initial £250 million share buyback on Monday, just days after the British engineering firm announced the £500 million plan alongside its annual results. J.P. Morgan Securities is handling the first phase, according to a regulatory filing, with the programme set to run until Dec. 31, 2026, at the latest.
This step lands now, putting some real action behind the buyback just as sentiment across markets sours. London’s FTSE 100 wrapped up Monday at a five-week low. IMI shares dropped 3.1%, even though net debt sits at 1.0 times EBITDA—right at the low end of the group’s target.
About 45% of the company’s revenue is now generated from higher-margin aftermarket business—service and spare parts after installation, according to the company. For 2026, it’s starting out with a larger Process Automation order book compared to last year.
Birmingham-based engineer IMI projected on Friday it’s heading for a sixth consecutive year of mid-single-digit organic revenue gains in 2026, and sees adjusted earnings per share coming in around 136p to 142p. Organic growth excludes impacts from currency fluctuations, acquisitions, or disposals.
Revenue landed at 2.304 billion pounds for 2025, up 4%, or 5% organically. Adjusted operating profit increased 6% to 460 million pounds, pushing margin out to 20.0%. Adjusted pretax profit was 442 million pounds. The board raised the full-year dividend 10% to 34.2 pence per share.
Automation took center stage. Process Automation revenue jumped 12% on an organic basis, with aftermarket orders in that segment climbing 11%. Demand linked to power, nuclear, and data-center projects gave the unit a boost. Industrial Automation, however, edged down 1% as global factory activity lost steam.
Chief Executive Roy Twite pointed to the strategy as “creating significant value for shareholders,” describing IMI as “well placed” to capture demand in energy, automation and healthcare. He linked the buyback plan to IMI’s capital discipline and strong cash flow. IMI plc
IMI’s move places it next to UK engineering rival Smiths Group, which kicked off a 1 billion-pound buyback back in November after it posted revenue gains.
The outlook’s complicated. IMI flagged that 2026 margin gains will be dented by higher cyber security costs, and the forecasts hinge on the £225 million Truflo Marine sale closing in mid-2026, pending regulatory and other green lights.
IMI has its next trading update scheduled for May 12.
