Car sale falls hurt Matthey
JOHNSON MATTHEY beat expectations with a one per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit yesterday, but warned sales will fall in the coming months as the global car industry continues to struggle.
The world’s biggest distributor of platinum, which is used to make jewellery, car catalysts and as an ingredient for drugs posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of £267.9m for the year to the end March, up from £265.4m a year earlier.
The UK chemicals firm said it sees demand for catalysts well down in the first half of 2009/10, pushing down sales and operating profit.
The firm said platinum demand for car catalysts fell eight per cent to 3.81 million ounces last year.
“So far we have seen no real signs of improvement in demand for automotive products in 2009/10 and we expect the group’s sales will be down in our first half in comparison to a very strong performance in the same period last year,” chief executive Neil Carson said.
He added that prospects after next year “remain encouraging” due to concerns about the environment and new emissions legislation.