Johnson Matthey PLC on Wednesday reported a ‘resilient’ first-half performance as revenue fell, but profit was boosted by a disposal gain.

The London-based chemicals maker said its pretax profit surged to £575 million in the six months to the end of September, from £82 million year-on-year. This reflected a £484 million profit on the disposal of its medical device components business, which completed in July. The business was sold to Montagu Private Equity for £550 million.

Revenue fell by 14% to £5.63 billion from £6.53 billion a year prior. The company said it was grappled with a ‘challenging macroeconomic backdrop’.

Underlying pretax profit, which did not include the disposal gain, was down 4.3% to £133 million from £139 million in the first half of financial 2023.

The company said margins improved in its Clean Air and Catalyst Technologies. Cumulative cost savings of £155 million have also been delivered as part of the company’s transformation programme, which is on track to rise to £200 million by the end of the financial year.

Johnson Matthey declared an interim dividend of 22.0 pence per share, maintained at the same level as last year.

The company maintained its outlook for the rest of the financial year to the end of March 2025. It said it continues to expect ‘at least mid single digit growth in underlying operating performance at constant precious metal prices and constant currency’.

Johnson Matthey also said it expects ‘improved’ performance in the second half as the benefits of the transformation programme are more strongly felt.

In July, the company announced a £250 million share buyback programme. It said £205 million of this programme had been completed by November 22.

Chief Executive Officer Liam Condon said: ‘We delivered a resilient performance - in line with our expectations - and have continued to execute on our strategy in the first half, against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop. Our performance was supported by our transformation programme which is progressing well. For the full year, we are maintaining guidance with our confidence in the second half underpinned by further transformation benefits.’

Condon also said Johnson Matthey is ‘well positioned’ to adapt to the changing pace of the net zero transition.

Shares in Johnson Matthey were down 5.1% to 1,417.42 pence in London on Wednesday morning.

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