3rd Quarter Trading Statement

Croda International PLC
30 October 2002

                                                                        30.10.02



                            Croda International Plc

                      Third Quarter Trading Statement and

                  Discontinuance of Technical Gelatin Business





Commenting on the results for the nine months to 30 September 2002, Antony
Beevor, Chairman, said:



'After nine months our unaudited management accounts show for continuing
operations, sales up 2%, operating profit up 15% and profit before tax up 23%.



Following a strong first half to the year, sales have remained robust in the
third quarter, particularly in the Oleochemicals sector.  Our key markets of
Personal and Health Care have again been the principal drivers of that growth
and sales to those markets for the nine months are up over 6% on the previous
year. Geographically, North America and Asia are the two regions which have seen
the largest growth in sales.



We have also made further progress in improving cash management, reducing our
net debt to £60m at the end of September.'



Croda International today also announces it is to withdraw from the market for
technical gelatin.  This decision is the result of the ongoing difficulties
faced by UK manufactured gelatin since the BSE crisis, exacerbated in the
current year by the sharply reduced offtake of major customers experiencing
difficulties in the prevailing market conditions.



This business generated sales of £9.3m and an operating profit of £0.6m in the
2001 financial year.  The equivalent numbers for the first nine months of 2002
are sales of £8.9m and an operating loss of £0.6m.  These figures will be
included in discontinued operations in the financial statements.



The exceptional cost of this discontinuance will be approximately £9.8m of which
£1.3m is a cash cost.



The Company will report its preliminary results for the 2002 full year on 26
February 2003.


For further information please contact:

Mike Humphrey, Group Chief Executive                          Tel. [phone]
Barbara Richmond, Group Finance Director                      Tel. [phone]
Charlie Armitstead, Financial Dynamics                        Tel. [phone]




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