Specialty chemicals company Croda International PLC said its pretax profit rose in the first half of 2015 on the back of better revenue across its operations.
The FTSE 250-listed company said its pretax profit for the six months to June 30 was GBP 135.6 million (USD 211 million), up from GBP 125.1 million (USD 194 million) a year ago.
Revenue for the group rose to GBP 564.6 million (USD 878 million) from GBP 537.4 million (USD 836 million), boosted by strong growth in its personal care and life sciences business and a recovery in sales in its performance technologies business unit. Croda said it saw growth in all regions in the first half and said revenue in the second quarter was ahead of the first three months.
“Croda’s performance in the first half of 2015 has been encouraging. The recovery in underlying sales trends, which began in the second half of last year, has continued to strengthen, operating margin has remained strong, and pretax profit has increased over 8%. This progress has been underpinned by record sales of new and protected products,” said Croda Chairman Martin Flower.
Croda said its performance in the first half was “encouraging,” with the recovery seen in its underlying sales trends in the second half of 2015 continuing into the new year.
Croda’s Performance Technologies division, which provides lubricants, polymer products and coatings, recovered from a slow start to the year in the second quarter, which helped revenue for the first half to rise to GBP 185.7 million (USD 288 million) from GBP 182.3 million (USD 283 million). Growth was driven by new product launches in its polymer additives line, along with good performances in coatings and polymers and a steady recovery in lubricant volumes, following destocking which hit its first quarter trading.
