AGM Trading Statement

RNS Number : 1535M

Elementis PLC

26 April 2018

 

Elementis plc

AGM Trading Statement

Solid start to the year, confident of further progress in 2018

Elementis has made a good start to the year and is confident of making further financial and strategic progress in 2018.

Solid business performance

·      In Personal Care our hectorite based products for the cosmetics market continue to experience growth across new product categories and geographies. Performance in anti-perspirant active ingredients has improved following pricing actions taken in 2017.

·      In Coatings performance benefited from growth in EMEA and the Americas, and a steady performance in Asia. 

·      Energy has remained solid.  As expected, growth has moderated against strong comparatives, with good performance in the US and rest of the world, and lower industry activity levels in Canada.

·     Chromium continues to deliver resilient performance but exceptional weather conditions at our Castle Hayne plant constrained output in the first quarter. Production has since recovered and we continue to expect full year performance to be in line with 2017.

Sustained cash generation and robust financial platform

Elementis' strong free cash generation continued in Q1 and net debt reduced from the year end, assisted by the completion of the disposal of our Surfactants business in March. Our financial platform is robust and supportive of future growth and continued shareholder value creation.

Commenting on the performance, CEO, Paul Waterman said,

"Elementis has had a solid start to the year and we are confident of delivering continued progress in 2018, in line with our previous expectations."

Enquiries

Elementis plc

James Curran, Investor Relations                                                    Tel: [phone]

Tulchan          

Martin Robinson                                                                            Tel: [phone]

 

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