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REUTERS
London, Aug 4: British speciality chemicals group Croda International Plc said on Tuesday it had been hit by a downturn in UK manufacturing and the economic crisis in Asia in the first half of the year.
However, finance director Barbara Richmond told Reuters in a telephone interview this had been partly offset by strong growth in North America and continental Europe.
"Germany is doing well and France is doing extremely well," Richmond said, with sales to continental Europe up nine per cent at constant exchange rates on a like-for-like basis.
Croda -- which produces small-volume oleochemicals for personal care, pharmaceutical and nutritional products and industrial chemicals used in paints, inks, packaging and fire-fighting equipment -- said pre-tax profit before exceptional items fell 22 percent in the first half of the year to 17.6 million pounds. Sales on continuing operations, excluding the paints business sold earlier this year, rose 1.5 percent to 184.9 million pounds.
The group took an London, Aug 4: British speciality chemicals group Croda International Plc said on Tuesday it had been hit by a downturn in UK manufacturing and the economic crisis in Asia in the first half of the year.
However, finance director Barbara Richmond told Reuters in a telephone interview this had been partly offset by strong growth in North America and continental Europe.
"Germany is doing well and France is doing extremely well," Richmond said, with sales to continental Europe up nine per cent at constant exchange rates on a like-for-like basis.
Croda -- which produces small-volume oleochemicals for personal care, pharmaceutical and nutritional products and industrial chemicals used in paints, inks, packaging and fire-fighting equipment -- said pre-tax profit before exceptional items fell 22 percent in the first half of the year to 17.6 million pounds. Sales on continuing operations, excluding the paints business sold earlier this year, rose 1.5 percent to 184.9 million pounds.
The group took anexceptional charge of 9.9 million pounds mainly related to the write-back of goodwill following the disposal.
Shares in Croda fell 5.2 percent or 16 pence to 285 pence in early trading.
The strong pound wiped 2.7 million pounds off profits and 10million pounds off sales in the first half, and Croda said the combination of sterling and weak UK and Asian markets would mean "solid rather than spectacular" results for the full year.
Richmond said in the UK, which accounts for 26 per cent of group sales, the downturn had been in the heavy industrial market, with personal care products holding up well. She said a downturn in orders from industrial clients in April and May had been followed by a recovery in June, although it was too early to predict if this would continue.
"They are being hit by import penetration and a lack of exports because of Asia, so there is a double whammy," Richmond said.
Richmond declined to comment on whether the group has received any takeover approaches. Croda has been at thecentre of bid speculation in recent months, with potential predators rumoured to include Hercules Inc of the US, which last year lost a battle for control of Allied Colloids.
However, she said Croda would continue to make small-scale acquisitions on its own account similar to the Westbrook lanolin maker, acquired on Monday for 10.6 million pounds.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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