Alongside carrying out safety tests on trains, toys and a range of other products, Intertek also tests oil and equipment, and the challenges facing the oil and gas infrastructure market have been weighing on its resources division.

The company said adjusted pretax profit rose to 210.3 million pounds ($277.7 million) in the six months to the end of June from 172.5 million pounds a year ago. Stripping out the impact of currency movements, profit was up 11.6 percent.

Like-for-like adjusted revenue rose 12.8 percent to 1.355 billion pounds. That was a rise of 1.7 percent stripping out the impact of currency fluctuations, including a 5.5 percent rise for its products and trade-related businesses, which accounted for 94 percent of earnings.

JP Morgan analysts said Intertek's profit was 4.7 percent higher than they expected, with an acceleration in organic revenue growth in May and June due to a slower pace of decline at its resources division, margin improvements and continued strong cash conversion.

JP Morgan raised its target price for the stock to 4,736 pence from 4,469 pence. Intertek's shares were trading 5 percent higher at 4,518 pence at 0720 GMT, making it the third top gainer on London's blue-chip <.FTSE> index.

The company said it was well positioned to deliver solid like-for-like revenue growth with robust margin progression at constant currencies and strong cash conversion in 2017.

"The $250 billion global quality assurance industry has attractive structural growth prospects ... We are uniquely positioned to seize these exciting growth opportunities," Chief Executive André Lacroix said in a statement.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish and Justin George Varghese, editing by David Clarke)

By Esha Vaish