Profit before tax increased 25.9% to £242.2m
· Strong growth in Consumer Care and Industrial Specialities, reflecting leading positions in niche markets and continued demand for innovative, high performance products
· Return on sales up to 22.7% (2010: 19.8%)
· £50m share buyback programme completed
· Full year dividend increased by 57.1% to 55.0p in line with new dividend policy, payout ratio 45%
· Net debt increased by less than £11m to £231m despite returning £118m to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks
· New management structure, reporting segments and medium term targets announced for 2012 to maximise our focus and drive profitability improvements in all parts of the Group.
Commenting on these results, Martin Flower, Chairman said:
"I am delighted to report another outstanding set of results. This continued success is testimony to the effectiveness of our strategic focus on market led innovation in fast growing sectors and economies worldwide, and an unrivalled understanding of our customers.
This long-established strategy has created a strong platform for future growth, underpinned by a robust business and expanding pipeline of new products, many more of which will come on stream this year.
Trading in January was encouraging and this positive trend has continued, despite the obvious economic uncertainties in Europe. While it is still early in the year and our visibility is limited, we expect 2012 to be another year of progress for Croda.
In the longer term, our focus on innovation and technology, as well as our increasing exposure to the growing economies of Asia and Latin America, give me great confidence in the future prospects of the Group."
