LONDON, May 1, 2026, 13:03 BST
- IMI snapped up 104,734 shares for cancellation on April 30, adding to its ongoing buyback program capped at up to £500 million.
- Shares dipped in London, as investors remain unconvinced that automation demand alone will be enough to drive growth through 2026.
- May 12 marks the date for the next scheduled trading update.
IMI plc has trimmed its share base further, purchasing 104,734 ordinary shares for cancellation on April 30 via J.P. Morgan Securities. Shares changed hands at an average price of 2,788.3815 pence each; deals spanned prices between 2,746p and 2,820p.
Timing’s key here: IMI announced the buyback just ahead of its May 12 trading update. That’s when investors want to see whether automation demand, aftermarket activity, and tight cost discipline are still lining up with management’s growth story for 2026. Buybacks involve the company snapping up its own shares and cancelling them, which can boost earnings per share if profits stay solid.
IMI reported its issued share capital at 254,304,955 ordinary shares as of April 30. Of those, 12,648,836 shares are sitting in treasury. That puts total voting rights at 241,656,119—the figure shareholders rely on for working out whether they need to disclose changes in their holdings under UK rules.
IMI reported that after the April 30 buyback shares are settled and cancelled, shares outstanding will drop to 254,093,221, while voting rights fall to 241,444,385. It’s a minor adjustment in a single session, but the share count keeps inching down as the group pushes ahead with its broader capital return strategy.
IMI kicked off the programme in March, following its announcement of a share buyback of up to £500 million aimed at trimming capital. J.P. Morgan Securities is handling the first £250 million slice. IMI expects to wrap up the full repurchase by Dec. 31, 2026.
Back in March, Chief Executive Roy Twite projected “another year of strong financial and strategic progress” for IMI in 2026. Twite singled out energy, automation, healthcare, and the company’s higher-margin aftermarket business as the key drivers behind expected earnings growth. Investegate
IMI posted 2025 revenue at £2.30 billion, a 4% increase, with adjusted operating profit climbing 6% to £460 million. Organic revenue—stripping out currency, deals, and divestments—improved by 5%. Adjusted operating margin hit 20.0%.
IMI shares slipped Friday, changing hands at 2,730p as of 12:47 BST. That’s a 2.22% drop from the April 30 close of 2,792p, per ADVFN market data.
Analysts aren’t straying far from IMI’s projections. As of April 29, the company’s consensus page put 2026 revenue at £2.37 billion, with adjusted operating profit coming in at £476 million and adjusted earnings per share at 140.1p. EPS—earnings per share—remains the standard metric for investors tracking profits per share.
This isn’t just about a single UK buyback. MarketScreener puts IMI in the industrial machinery camp with names like Parker-Hannifin, Fanuc, and SMC. IMI’s market cap? Roughly $9.14 billion—dwarfed by Parker-Hannifin’s $115 billion and still less than Fanuc or SMC. For IMI, that size gap puts a sharper focus on capital discipline.
The risk here is clear enough: a buyback won’t offset weaker orders. IMI reported a 1% organic drop in Industrial Automation revenue for 2025 and a 6% decline for Transport. On its consensus page, the company also flags that forecasts are forward-looking and carry risks and uncertainties.
Share count continues to shrink for now. The question is what the May 12 update will reveal: Is demand in Process Automation strong enough? Are the rest of the businesses holding up, and can the company keep funneling cash to shareholders?
