Charter this week joined the list of UK companies seeking to shift their tax base abroad. But the move diverted attention from interim results that demonstrated that the engineering company has returned to health. Charter earlier this year resumed its dividend for the first time since 1999 as it declared itself debt-free. On Thursday, it unveiled a 30 per cent increase in interim revenues to £900m and a 14 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £105m. Trading at ESAB, its welding, cutting and automation division, and Howden, its air and gas handling operation, has proved resilient as Charter, which now generates only 5 per cent of sales in the UK, has exploited buoyant demand across world markets. The shares have outperformed the FTSE 250 index, but despite the buy/outperform consensus among analysts, they are still trading on a modest p/e for the full year of less than 10 times. For fans of the sector, they appear a safe haven.