AGM Statement

Yule Catto & Co PLC
22 May 2002


YULE CATTO & COMPANY PLC


                                 Trading update


At the Yule Catto AGM held today Chairman Anthony Richmond-Watson addressed the
shareholders present at the meeting and made the following comments on the
current trading and outlook for the group:

'We have seen a good first quarter with demand continuing to be strong and
results up to expectations.  Having said that, there is clearly a period of
uncertainty ahead regarding the Middle East which has already caused the price
of oil to rise.  This makes the outlook for global markets difficult to predict.

'We have recently seen an increase in the cost of the main monomer raw materials
used by our Polymer companies, driven by the higher input costs of our
suppliers.  Whilst this has been exacerbated by low stocks and major maintenance
shutdowns within the supply chain, there are no signs of a substantial
macroeconomic recovery and growth in downstream demand for these raw materials
remains fragile.

'As stocks have been replenished and supply capacity has come back on stream,
the rise has begun to falter and stability should return, enabling our companies
to manage margin levels to best effect.

'Despite the backcloth of general uncertainty over the world economy, Yule Catto
has created significant strategic opportunities over the past 12 months.   We
will see the benefits start to emerge from the integration of our water-based
polymer businesses, the start up of the Malaysian nitrile latex facility and
improving demand in Pharma and Performance Chemicals.  Taking all of this into
account, we look forward to delivering a sustained improvement in results for
our shareholders.'

                                                                     22 May 2002



ENQUIRIES:

YULE CATTO                                                    Tel: [phone]
Alex Walker, Chief Executive
Sean Cummins, Finance Director

COLLEGE HILL                                                  Tel: [phone]
Gareth David                                 Email: [e-mail]
Lisa Pearson                                 Email: [e-mail]



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange