Elementis Regulatory News (ELM)

ELEMENTIS PLC - Pre-close trading update

PR Newswire

London, December 16

17 December 2015

Elementis plc – pre-close trading updateElementis plc (ELM.L, the "Company" or the "Group"), the Global Specialty Chemicals Company, today issues a trading update ahead of its results for the full year ending 31 December 2015, which will be announced on 1 March 2016.Since we issued our Interim Management Statement on 30 October 2015, markets have continued to be challenging and earnings per share for the current year is now projected to be at the lower end of the range of market expectations. Due to the cash generative nature of the Group and our ongoing focus on cash management, it is still anticipated that the Group’s year end net cash balance will be higher than the prior year balance of $64.2 million.Looking towards 2016, management expects Specialty Products to make progress against the current year, based on its strong and diverse market positions, new product launches and resilient contribution margins.In Chromium, the business will continue to benefit from its North American business model, where our unique delivery systems provide a value added service to customers. Export sales from North America, however, are likely to remain under pressure due to the strong US dollar. In addition, operating profit in the current year has benefited from approximately $5 million of “one-time” items, relating to a legal settlement and property easements which will not be repeated in 2016. Consequently, operating profit in 2016 in our Chromium operations is expected to be lower than the current year.Strong cash flow generation will continue to be an important feature of the Group’s performance in 2016 and both businesses will benefit next year from the recently announced measured actions to reduce our cost base.ENDSEnquiries: