Profits and sales drop at chemicals business amidst subdued economic climate
East Yorkshire-headquartered chemicals giant, Croda International, has reported lower than hoped for sales growth in its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Group sales were £1,628.1m (2023: £1,694.5m) with pre-tax profits of £207.8m (2023: £236.3m).
Steve Foots, chief executive officer, said: “2024 was another transitional year, following two years of unprecedented demand in 2021 and 2022, with an industry-wide reset from 2023.
“Whilst sales growth was lower than we hoped in a subdued demand environment, proactive actions to rebase costs and drive efficiencies enabled us to deliver profits in line with our guidance.
“Our multi-year programme of actions to make Croda more focused and more efficient is beginning to bear fruit with our adjusted operating margin improving half-on-half and strong free cash flow generation.
“We are accelerating our efforts with an enhanced focus on costs and efficiency which, combined with increased innovation and the growth potential of recent investments, underpin our confidence in delivering earnings growth and improving returns in the future.”
Croda said its Consumer Care operation saw progress in all areas, with another “standout” performance from Fragrances & Flavours and good growth of New & Protected Products.
Meanwhile, its Life Sciences operation was impacted by the absence of Covid-19 lipids and weak sales into consumer health markets.
The business recorded better demand in Crop Protection, which drove an improved performance in the second half of the year.
Croda adds that while the overall economic backdrop remains subdued, it is benefiting from more stable customer inventories and demand in most markets and geographies.
The company says that following a period of reduced customer appetite for new product innovation during the pandemic, it is now stepping up innovation to meet renewed customer demand.
