Trading Statement

Intertek Group PLC
14 December 2004


14 December 2004, 7.00am


Intertek Group plc ('Intertek')


Pre Close Trading Statement

Intertek, the global testing, inspection and certification company, today
reports on trading ahead of entering the close period for the financial year to
31 December 2004. The preliminary results will be announced on Monday 7 March
2005.

Based on current results, at constant exchange rates operating profit in the
second half of 2004 continues to grow well. Despite the weakening of the US
dollar, management expects operating profit for the full year to be within the
range of analysts' forecasts.

Labtest's textile and toy testing business in Hong Kong and China is performing
strongly as a result of international buyers sourcing products from Asia.

In September, Labtest formed a joint venture with SDL Atlas, a US based
manufacturer of laboratory equipment, to sell this equipment worldwide. The
joint venture is owned 40% by Labtest and 60% by Atlas. Previously Labtest
distributed this equipment in China with sales of approximately £5m a year. From
1 October 2004, Intertek will report its 40% profit share in the joint venture
and the sales will not be reported.

In Caleb Brett, the cargo inspection business is improving over last year and
the outsourcing business is growing well. Our laboratories in Scotland and
Norway were recently awarded the BP production chemistry contract for the North
Sea.

Caleb Brett has recently acquired the assets of Kelley Completion Services LLC
(KCS) for approximately £4.9m. KCS is a market leader in offshore oil and gas
measurement services, predominantly in the Gulf of Mexico. This acquisition
strengthens Caleb Brett's position in the upstream testing market.

In ETL SEMKO, appliance and electronics testing in Hong Kong and China is
showing good growth. In America, there has been further progress in acceptance
of the ETL label by retailers. The testing of building products, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning products is performing well. Entela, the
automotive components testing business was acquired in May, and will make a good
contribution in the second half of the year.

In FTS, the three main contracts in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Venezuela are
achieving good volumes of inspection activity. A new contract to start
implementing a standards programme in Nigeria was signed in October.


For further information, please contact:

     Aston Swift, Treasurer and Investor Relations
     Telephone:           [phone]      [e-mail]

     Katie Macdonald-Smith, Tulchan Communications
     Telephone:           [phone]      [e-mail]

     Corporate website: www.intertek.com

High resolution images of Intertek Group plc businesses are available to
download, free of charge from www.vismedia.co.uk.


About Intertek

Intertek is a leading international testing, inspection and certification
organisation which assesses customers' products and commodities against a wide
range of safety, regulatory, quality and performance standards and in some
cases, certifies the management systems of customers. Intertek has over 280
laboratories with approximately 13,000 people around the world and is
increasingly undertaking outsourced testing work for its customers.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange