Chemicals companies produce the compounds used in a huge variety of different industrial and consumer products across sectors which include agriculture, healthcare, technology, aerospace, sports, leisure and beauty.The breadth of the industry?s focus means its fortunes are closely tied to the economy and movements in GDP as well as volatility in raw material prices and energy costs.In 2023 the sec

2023 underlying sales fall 11%Pre-tax profit slides by 70%Firm sees further margin pressureSpecialty chemical group Croda International (CRDA) posted a disappointing set of full-year 2023 results impacted by continued destocking by customers and a weak trading environment.The shares gave up 2.7% to £47.70 making them the worst performers in the FTSE 100. SALES DOWNTURNSales for the year to

In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

Croda shares down 31% year-to-dateDifficult economic background hits profitsNo sign of fourth quarter improvementShares in Croda International (CRDA) were marked down more than 4% in morning trade to £45.68 after the chemicals maker issued a profit warning pinned on a difficult global economic backdrop.The FTSE 100 company's second earnings alert this year accompanied an update on third quarter t

Group performance 'in line' with expectationsPro forma sales down 6%Full year 2023 guidance reaffirmedShares in speciality chemicals maker Croda International (CRDA) were up more than 5% in morning trading to £59.44 despite the firm reporting an 80% fall in pre-tax profit to £128.7 million for the six months ending 30 June 2023 compared to £636.5 million in the same period last year.Croda share

Shares drop 13% on full year profit warningRapid customer destocking means profit cut by 13%Shares have halved in last 18 monthsShares in Croda International (CRDA) dropped 13% to £52.44 on Friday after the speciality chemicals company issued a full year profit warning following weaker than expected trading in the first five months of the year.It is one of the biggest daily falls seen in the shar

London share prices started trading on Friday marginally lower, with the FTSE 100 bouncing between between green and red, as markets gear up for major central bank decisions next week.Weak US jobs data on Thursday are thought to have increased the chances of pause in monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve this month, while weak inflation in China is expected to prompt some form of stimu

Today's era of higher interest rates means shares face competition for investors' hard-earned savings money from the interest on cash and the coupons paid out by bonds. However, the purchasing power of cash is being eroded by inflation, while the coupons investors clip from bonds can only ever be fixed.'The beauty of equities and equity income is the growth,' says Troy Asset Management's Blake Hut

The UK?s first-half results reporting season is drawing to a close, and investors may be feeling they can breathe a sigh of relief. As in the US more firms are beating or meeting expectations and disappointments look relatively few and far between.Smith & Nephew (SN.) and Rolls-Royce (RR.) look to be the only real let-downs, while a range of industries from chemicals and banks to pharmaceuticals a

- US government to invest $75 million in new facility- Company forecasts $200 million of sales by 2025- Lipids vital for next-generation vaccinesShares in specialty-chemical company Croda International (CRDA) moved higher following the announcement it had signed a deal with the American government to support the expansion of a new lipid manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania.The US government will

With markets being buffeted by concerns over rising inflation and slowing growth - the dreaded 'stagflation' - and nothing but negative headlines it's easy to be despondent about the outlook for UK businesses.Yet, having scanned all the company announcements of the last couple of weeks, it's clear there are still dozens of firms which are optimistic about trading and/or are raising their forecasts

As 2022 began many investment experts were whistling a similar tune; that conditions still look good but the rip-roaring rallies powered by the reopening are history. Growth will ease. Returns will moderate. Risks abound?but so do opportunities.As we close in on the halfway stage of 2022 investors have the opportunity to reflect, and it's a good bet that with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, most w

Income specialist Murray Income Trust (MUT) delivered a total return in net asset value of 7.2% for the six months to 31 December 2021.Performance was comfortably ahead of the FTSE All-Share return of 6.5% and means the trust is ahead its benchmark over one, three and five years. The shares reacted positively, gaining 1.3% to 833p.The company said it continued to benefit from its enlarged scale fo

Major UK share indices managed to hold on to earlier gains and finished Wednesday's trading session in positive territory.This was despite continuing concerns surrounding the potential economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant, and disappointment surrounding the latest UK third quarter gross domestic figure print.The FTSE 100 Index and the FTSE 250 Index ended the session 0.61% and 1.14%

Major UK share indexes traded in positive territory at lunchtime on Wednesday despite GDP growth disappointment and ongoing Omicron concerns.The UK economy saw growth of 1.1% versus the 1.3% expected in the third quarter to 30 September 2021. 'The disappointing figures on the UK economy were before the Omicron wave hit, so there will be some concern that they represent the calm before the storm an

Shares in chemicals company CRODA (CRDA) dropped 1.3% to £98.42, after announcing it had agreed to sell the majority of its performance technologies and industrial chemicals business, to Cargill Velocity in a deal worth €915 million (around £778 million).The deal reduces Croda's cyclical exposure, and will provide it with additional resources to invest in the healthcare sector and spend on

Disappointing UK growth figures put a spanner in the works for the FTSE 100 in early trade on Wednesday, defying expectations that Tuesday's rally would continue. The benchmark index around 0.3% to 7,277.92 but the falls remain marginal, so far.Gross domestic product in the world's fifth-biggest economy increased 1.1% in the third quarter to the end of September, weaker than a preliminary estimate

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On an invested sum of £210,000, the return over two years on my SIPP and stocks and shares ISA active retirement portfolio of around 30 shares is 12.4% excluding dividend payments.I have been documenting my investing experience in Shares since August 2020 and these articles have provided readers with an insight into how I try to make money from the markets and manage my investments.SAFETY-FIRST A

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING PROMOTIONPetro Matad (MATD:AIM), Bacanora Lithium (BCNA:AIM), Anglo Pacific Group (APF), SolGold (SOLG) and Yellow Cake (YCA:AIM). What do these companies have in common? They have all partnered with PrimaryBid to enable retail participation in their fundraisings.Why does this matter? While many companies have wanted to include retail investors when raising capital, the tech