Elementis FY pre-tax losses widen on impairment charge

Chemicals business Elementis said on Tuesday that pre-tax losses had widened in the twelve months ended 31 December as a result of a sizeable impairment charge.

Elementis stated statutory losses had widened from $8.0m to $63.0m, principally due to a $103.0m impairment charge linked to macro related discount rate increases and demand conditions.

Revenues rose 4% year-on-year to $736.0m, driven by strong new business momentum, target pricing actions and an improved product mix, while net debt contracted 9% to $367.0m.

Going forward, the FTSE 250-listed firm noted that it had made "an encouraging start" to 2023 and said it was "well positioned" to make continued financial progress.

Elementis added that given its "stronger balance sheet" and expected good cash generation, it was also looking to reinstate the payment of ordinary dividends to shareholders later in 2023.

Chief executive Paul Waterman said: "In 2022 we made significant progress towards our strategic and financial goals. The sale of our Chromium business enhances portfolio quality - reducing the volatility of our earnings, improving margins, and transforming the sustainability profile of our business.

"We have a strong pipeline of sales opportunities and are applying our Innovation, Growth and Efficiency strategy to drive further improvement. Despite the continued uncertainty in global demand, we remain confident that Elementis is well placed for future growth and margin improvement."

As of 0910 GMT, Elementis shares were down 0.079% at 126.30p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com