Synthomer increases 2013 interim dividend by 9%

DividendMax Ltd.

Synthomer increases 2013 interim dividend by 9%

Performance in Europe impacted by on-going weak demand, particularly in construction related areas, reflecting the current macro environment.

Growth in Asia and ROW driven by continuing strong nitrile demand growth and modest recovery in unit margins from H2 2012 levels.

Strong cash flow enabling strategic investment in additional capacity and Emerging Markets.

Net debt reduced to £151.7 million (H1 2012: £174.2 million).

Interim dividend declared of 2.4p per share (H1 2012: 2.2p) in line with policy.

Commenting on the results, Adrian Whitfield, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Synthomer has delivered a solid performance in the first half of 2013, in line with expectations. Business in Europe has remained challenging, with a continuation of the weak demand trends seen in the second half of 2012 reflecting the current economic environment.

In Asia, the performance of our nitrile business has been encouraging, with the pace of recovery being faster than originally anticipated. We have seen good demand growth and a modest improvement in margins from the low levels we saw over most of last year.

For the balance of the year, absent any recovery in demand in Europe, the Board expects that our European business profitability will be somewhat lower than the first half, largely reflecting the impact of normal seasonal factors.  The Asia and ROW business is expected to operate at a similar level to the first half."

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