LONDON, July 2, 2026, 21:03 BST
- IMI slipped 0.27% to finish at 2,916p. The FTSE 100 added 1.67% to hit 10,652.87. Volume was 1.24 million shares, above the 1.05 million average.
- July 1 voting-rights figure shows voting rights at 238.9 million after accounting for 11.6 million treasury shares. The final £250 million buyback chunk would be about 8.6 million shares at Thursday’s close.
- Analysts have a 3,140p median target on the stock, about 7.7% higher than where shares finished on Thursday. IMI’s consensus from the company puts adjusted EPS at 140.1p for 2026 and 153.0p in 2027.
IMI plc (LON:IMI) fell 8p to 2,916p on Thursday, losing 0.27% while the FTSE 100 added 1.67%. IMI lagged the index by nearly 2 points. Trading volume was about 18% higher than usual. Hargreaves Lansdown listed the stock as closed for the day with pricing delayed.
IMI gave up just a little ground. The setup was bigger. Shares are still sitting 39.12% higher year-on-year and now just 4.21% under their June 19 peak at 3,044.04p. That doesn’t leave much space for a typical buyback and guidance play unless July earnings prove the valuation.
Industrial figures for London in this section draw on Investors Chronicle for IMI, Google Finance for numbers on the FTSE 100 and related names, and Hargreaves Lansdown for Rotork data.
| Security | Latest quote | Day move |
|---|---|---|
| IMI plc (LON:IMI) | Closed at 2,916p | Down 0.27% |
| FTSE 100 | 10,652.87 | Up 1.67% |
| Weir Group PLC (LON:WEIR) | 2,462p | Gained 1.15% |
| Smiths Group plc (LON:SMIN) | 2,594p | Up 0.86% |
| Spirax Group PLC (LON:SPX) | 6,770p | Lost 0.22% |
| Rotork plc (LON:ROR) | 296.20p/297.20p sell/buy | Added 0.14% |
Industrial names traded mixed. Weir and Smiths gained, Spirax slipped, and Rotork was flat. IMI’s bigger swing came from the share count.
IMI said June 22 it finished the first £250 million part of its buyback plan, which could reach £500 million. The company also hired Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (ETR:DBK), trading as Deutsche Numis, to run the next £250 million tranche. On July 1, IMI reported 250.56 million shares in issue, with 11.65 million in treasury and 238.91 million voting rights.
| Buyback and share-count item | Figure | Market read |
|---|---|---|
| Total programme announced | Up to £500 mln | That’s about 7.2% of the current market cap |
| First tranche completed | £250 mln | Done |
| Second tranche | £250 mln | Company says it starts “in due course” |
| Voting-rights denominator | 238.9 mln shares | After treasury shares |
| Shares second tranche could buy at 2,916p | About 8.6 mln | That’s around 3.6% of voting rights |
| Notional size versus Thursday volume | About 6.9 times | Based on 1.24 mln shares traded |
Analyst targets are converging. Of the 14 analysts watched by Investors Chronicle, the median 12-month price target is 3,140p. The range goes from 2,560p to a high of 3,350p. That median target sits about 7.7% above Thursday’s close.
IMI’s May 21 consensus shows group revenue going up to £2.37 billion for 2026, from £2.30 billion in 2025. Adjusted operating profit is set at £476 million, with adjusted EPS at 140.1p. At 2,916p, the stock trades at roughly 20.8 times 2026 consensus EPS and 19.1 times 2027.
| Metric | 2025 actual | 2026 mean | 2027 mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £2,304 mln | £2,371 mln | £2,452 mln |
| Adjusted operating profit | £460 mln | £476 mln | £501 mln |
| Adjusted operating margin | 20.0% | 20.1% | 20.4% |
| Adjusted EPS | 132.3p | 140.1p | 153.0p |
| Price/EPS at 2,916p | 22.0x | 20.8x | 19.1x |
IMI CEO Roy Twite said in May the company was off to a good start this year. IMI’s Q1 update showed organic revenue up 5%. Automation rose 6%, and Life Technology was up 4%. IMI kept its full-year adjusted basic EPS guidance at 136p to 142p.
On the Q1 call, Twite said margins came in “pretty much exactly where we expected them to be.” He told analysts conventional power orders doubled in the first quarter. Data centre-related Climate sales were £18 million in 2025, and Twite said they could climb about 50% this year. Investing
The data-centre trade is key for IMI. In the May update, the company said Process Automation demand got a boost from data centre energy needs and electrification. Climate Control is getting help from direct liquid cooling demand. That same update put the Middle East at 6% of 2025 revenue, mostly Process Automation. The outlook assumes they get planned shipments to the region done by year-end.
IMI is due to post half-year numbers for the six months to June 30 on July 31.
