Croda International warns on currencies, shares plunge

31st Oct 2013 07:00

- Growth across all regions- Warns on currencies - Market conditions expected to remain subdued Since the start of July, Croda International has seen a continued improvement in sales trends, and on Thursday treated investors by reporting growth across all regions.This was despite subdued underlying market conditions, which were similar to those experienced during the first half of the year. Turnover was up 4.4% to £267.9m, although underlying sales were only 0.8% higher.However, the group warned that currencies continued to weaken and said market conditions are expected to "remain subdued". In Consumer Care, sales were up 3.2% to £145.4m (2012: £140.9m) supported by both volume growth and a better quality product mix. Overall trends were mixed. In Performance Technologies sales were up 0.4% to £95.0m (2012: £94.7m) with growth in Geotech and Polymer Additives, while Industrial Chemicals turnover increased 31.6% to £27.5m (2012: £20.9m). Martin Flower, Chairman of Croda said: "Croda has continued to generate a steadily improving underlying sales performance through every quarter of this year despite challenging market conditions. We continue to benefit from the strong demand for innovation and remain particularly encouraged by the progress that Croda is making in Asia and South America. "However, with currencies continuing to weaken and market conditions expected to remain subdued, fourth quarter profits are likely to be similar to quarter three. Looking ahead, the Board remains confident that Croda's strategy will continue to deliver progress into 2014 and beyond." Cash generation was very strong in the quarter with net debt falling £8.6m to £213.7m. This was despite a £45.6m increase in borrowings due to the acquisition of 65% of the equity of Sipo in the quarter.NR