Synthomer profit rises amid improvement in Europe and North America

Specialty chemicals company Synthomer reported an increase in first-half profit thanks to ongoing improvements in Europe and North America.

In the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit rose to £61m from £58.7m in the first half of 2015, on revenue of £446.2m, up from £432.3m.

Earnings per share were up 19% to 13.8p and the group declared an interim dividend of 3.5p per share, 9.4% higher than the previous year.

In Europe and North America, the performance was driven by positive momentum in construction and coatings, functional polymers and foam markets.

In Asia and Rest of the World, the improved performance was driven by firming margins relative to the first half of last year. Volumes and margins achieved in the nitrile business were broadly in line with the strong performance experienced in the second half of 2015, the company said.

Chairman Neil Johnson said: “This is an encouraging first half performance. It reflects continued improvement in our Europe and North America segment, where we have controlled costs and increased focus on R&D investment to drive growth of higher margin products, and another strong performance in our Asia and Rest of World business.

“Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic for the full year. In Europe and North America, notwithstanding the Brexit vote and the ensuing unsettled economic outlook and currency markets, we expect to make continued progress.”

At 1040 BST, Synthomer shares were flat at 383.80p.