Johnson Matthey Share Price (JMAT)

JMAT - Johnson Matthey Investor Summary

Johnson Matthey is a company specialising in the chemicals industry with a particular emphasis on precious metals and technological advances in process. It operates in over thirty countries, trades globally and has almost nine thousand employees. They principally operate as a manufacturer of large autocatalysts and catalysts for pollution control and those involved with precious metals.

Johnson Matthey is strongly committed to its environmental policy, constantly developing technology to improve quality of life and the environment.

The company is organised into three divisions. Environmental Technologies supplies technology and catalysts to clients with the aim to improving the environment such as controlling pollution and making fuel cleaner and more efficient. This is mainly focussed on reducing the impact of emissions and finding cleaner, less damaging fuels. The second division, Precious Metal Products, consists of the marketing, refining and distributing of platinum, gold and silver metals. The final division, Fine Chemicals and Catalysts, supplies customers and research institutes with the necessary resources.

Johnson Matthey was established in 1817 when Percival Norton Johnson began his business as a gold assayer in London. In 1851 George Matthey joined to form the partnership Johnson Matthey. In 1852 they secured the contract of official assayers to the Bank of England. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange and preference shares were available to buy in 1901 but the company only became a public limited company in 1981. Most recently Johnson Matthey continues to be an innovative company working towards a cleaner and more environmentally friendly future by investing in research and development, whatever the price, to discover new technologies and processes.