Croda forecasts annual profit to beat expectations

Croda International said it expected annual profit to be well ahead of expectations as the speciality chemicals company reported record results for the first half.

Pretax profit rose 41% to £204.1m in the six months to the end of June from a year earlier as sales surged 39% to £934m. Adjusted pretax profit rose 51% to £229.5m and by 35% from two years earlier.

The FTSE 100 group proposed a 10% increase in its interim dividend to 43.5p a share, continuing an unbroken 30-year record of rising shareholder returns.

"We expect underlying growth across all sectors to continue in the second half year, driven by consumer demand, whilst the customer restocking seen in the first half is expected to moderate," the company said.

"We now expect 2021 full-year adjusted profit before tax to be significantly ahead of current expectations. Subject to there being no material change in current market conditions, we expect a similar phasing of profit between the first and second half periods as seen in previous years."