Listed chemical firm sees profits hit £317m in ‘year of strong growth’
Goole-headquartered Croda International, which produces and sells speciality chemicals, has reported increases in both profits and revenue in “another year of strong growth.”
For the year ending 31 December 2018, the listed firm reported pre-tax profits of £317.8m, which is a 1.2% rise on the £314.1m achieved the year prior. Overall revenue also slightly increased by 1% to £1.363bn from £1.373bn.
The company said that sales in the first half of the year were particularly strong, with Core Business constant currency sales up 4.7%. Growth in the second half was slightly softer, up 2.8%, with stronger prior year comparators.
Personal Care continued its return to sales growth and Life Sciences delivered good sales growth, partly offset by exit of the North American API contract at the end of 2017.
As a result of this growth, Croda declared a special dividend of 115 pence a share, returning £150m to shareholders.
Steve Foots, Croda’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “2018 was another year of strong progress for Croda. We are ‘Growing the Core’ – once again delivering top line growth at industry leading margins to achieve superior returns.
“We are ‘Stretching the Growth’, accelerating delivery across our markets through relentless innovation and by investing in disruptive technologies and exciting new growth opportunities. All core sectors contributed to this performance, demonstrating Croda’s three legs of growth.
“Cash generation strengthened and we have proposed the return of a further £150m through a special dividend to shareholders, in addition to an increased ordinary dividend.
“Looking ahead, whilst global market conditions remain challenging, we continue to invest for the future and are confident that our strategy of Growing the Core and Stretching the Growth will deliver further progress in 2019.”
