16th May 2016 06:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - Specialty chemicals company Victrex PLC on Monday said its pretax profit and revenue dipped in the first half amid mixed trading in end markets, though it forecasts an improvement in the second half.
The polymer products company, which makes pipes, films and coatings, said pretax profit for the half to the end of March was GBP47.5 million, down 12% from the GBP53.9 million made a year earlier.
Revenue for the half fell 10% to GBP117.0 million from GBP130.3 million, and the group's gross margin declined 200 basis points to 62.9% from 64.9% year-on-year, mostly due to new plant costs.
Victrex said its Automotive & Aerospace division grew in the first half, and it saw a solid performance from its Medical business. This, however, was offset by declines for the company's Electronics and Oil & Gas-facing businesses.
Victrex said it will pay a flat interim dividend of 11.73 pence.
Chief Executive David Hummel said the company anticipates volumes in the Consumer Electronics business will recover sharply in the second half, ahead of new smartphone product launches. It expects those volumes to be more than double what was seen in the first half year.
He said Victrex's outlook for the whole business tracks that for the Consumer Electronics division, leaving the group "comfortable" with current expectations for the full year, though he said orders in the second half will be "more back-end loaded" than in previous years.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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