Valve supplier IMI says profit hit by strong pound

Aug 1 (Reuters) - IMI Plc (LSE: IMI.L - news) , a supplier of flow-control systems, reported a 6 percent drop in adjusted operating profit for the first half of the year, hit by the strong pound.

Adjusted operating profit fell to 137 million pounds ($231 million) in the six months ended June 30 from 146 million pounds a year earlier.

Revenue fell 3 percent to 809 million pounds.

The company said the strong pound had an adverse impact on revenue to the tune of 45 million pounds for the period. Operating profit took a 7 million-pound hit.

IMI, which supplies valves for power and petrochemical plants, said it expected to double its full-year 2014 operating profit over the five years that follow.

The FTSE-100 company raised its interim dividend to 13.6 pence per share from 12.8 pence a year earlier. ($1 = 0.5925 British Pounds) (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bangalore; Editing by Robin Paxton)