UK specialty chemicals maker Croda sets ambitious profit margin target amid business overhaul (updated)
24/02/2026 07:33
Rewrites paragraph 1 with 2028 targets, adds details throughout Feb 24 (Reuters) - Britain's Croda International CRDA.L set out ambitious profit margin targets for 2028, as the specialty chemicals maker continued to streamline its business after facing subdued demand in some regions due to U.S. tariffs last year. The company, which provides ingredients for the beauty, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries, overhauled its operations and sites, and tightened procurement to get a better handle on costs, which were exacerbated by client destocking and tariffs. Croda took impairment charges totaling 107.3 million pounds in 2025, including 44.6 million pounds related to placing its Lamar lipids facility in the United States on standby as customer projects requiring large-scale production were taking longer to materialize than expected. The firm, which makes peptides for anti-aging creams and lipids for drug delivery, said it expects adjusted group operating margin to cross 20% for 2028, after its annual pretax profit beat market expectations. It logged 276.2 million pounds ($372.51 million) in adjusted pretax profit for the year, above analysts' average expectations of 267.8 million pounds, as per a company-compiled poll. ($1 = 0.7415 pounds) (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman) ((Yamini.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com;))