REG - Synthomer PLC - Final Results
Today 07:02
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RNS Number : 4927C Synthomer PLC 30 April 2026
Synthomer plc
Results for the year ended 31 December 2025
Further margin improvement and strong cash delivery in 2025
Strategically well-positioned to capitalise on trading momentum in 2026
Bank facilities refinanced to 2029 with revised covenants
Year ended 31 December 2025 2024 Constant currency(1)
Change
£m £m % %
Continuing operations(2)
Revenue 1,739.2 1,933.1 (10.0)% (9.9)%
Coatings & Construction Solutions (CCS) 64.3 85.9 (25.1)% (25.1)%
Adhesive Solutions (AS) 66.0 47.9 +37.8% +39.5%
Health & Protection and Performance Materials (HPPM) 24.2 33.0 (26.7)% (28.5)%
Corporate (18.0) (23.7)
EBITDA(3) 136.5 143.1 (4.6)% (4.5)%
EBITDA margin (%) 7.8% 7.4%
Underlying(4) operating profit (EBIT) 37.6 48.1 (21.8)% (21.2)%
Statutory operating loss (EBIT) (50.2) (26.2)
Results from continuing and discontinued operations(2)
Underlying(4) loss before tax (23.2) (7.2)
Statutory loss before tax (120.2) (87.3)
Underlying(4) EPS (p) (37.2) (2.5)
Basic EPS (p) (96.0) (44.4)
Free Cash Flow(5) 56.6 (54.7)
Net debt(6) 575.0 597.0
· FY 2025 results in line with expectations reflecting margin and net
debt progress, driven by cost savings and strategy delivery
− (7.2)% volume reduction year-on-year driven by lower end-market demand
following global tariff changes
− Gross margin +200bps and EBITDA margin +40bps from mix and £30m in
self-help benefits
− Continuing Group EBITDA resilient at £136.5m (2024: £143.1m)
− Strong performance in Adhesive Solutions (AS), which continues to
regain share and enhance margins
− Further cost savings partially offset negative operating leverage to
lower activity levels in Coatings & Construction Solutions (CCS) and
Health & Protection and Performance Materials (HPPM) divisions
− Positive Free Cash Flow(5) for the year; net debt reduced to £575.0m
(H1 2025: £638.3m, FY 2024: £597.0m) reflecting rigorous focus on profit and
cash management
− 4.7x covenant net debt:EBITDA as at 31 December 2025, well within less
than 5.25x requirement; £385.5m of undrawn committed liquidity
· Stable financial position to support delivery of strategy including
divestments and earnings recovery
− Bank facilities refinanced with maturities extended to 2029
− Net debt: EBITDA covenants reset; security and guarantee package
provided by certain group companies
· Strategic progress continues; reallocating resources towards
specialities with greatest returns potential
− Three non-core divestments completed since 2022 strategy review,
including William Blythe in May 2025
− Broadened portfolio of four divestment projects underway
− Manufacturing sites reduced to 29 (from 43 at launch of strategy);
updated plans target 25 or fewer
− 43 new products launched in 2025 with enhanced sustainability benefits
− Additional new partnerships signed to enhance commercial opportunities
with limited capital investment
· Trading and outlook - Q1 2026 in line with expectations and ahead of
prior year; expecting robust Q2 2026
− Significantly improved CCS and stable AS performances offsetting a
slower start for HPPM in Q1 2026 - all businesses had improving momentum
through the quarter
− Expect robust period-on-period volume and margin progress in Q2 2026
as a result of our strong positioning and pricing power in the changed
operating and commercial environment following start of the Iran conflict
− Full year expectations of year-on-year progress driven by self-help
actions unchanged at this stage. Given the current conditions, risks are to
the upside but longer-term effects of the Iran conflict remain uncertain
− Substantial medium-term earnings opportunity from ongoing self-help
actions, end-market volume recovery in core speciality divisions and further
strategic delivery
Commenting, Synthomer CEO Michael Willome said:
"The key pillars of our strategy are delivering further margin progress
through cost savings and operational excellence. We have an improved business
mix focused on our portfolio of leading speciality positions as a result of
our consistent portfolio management approach and more effective allocation of
capital and other resources. Our singular focus on these delivered a robust
set of results in 2025 despite the challenging end-market conditions, and
improving momentum at the start of 2026.
"From the beginning of the Iran conflict we have seen a changed operating
environment where many of our key strengths, our improved operating leverage
and our 'in region for region' manufacturing strategy are proving to be
beneficial. We will remain focused on these same strategic objectives and
operational discipline which we expect to deliver substantial value creation
for our shareholders and other stakeholders.
"The successful refinancing process and our ongoing divestment programme are
critical projects for the Group, further improving our balance sheet position
and will support our core ambition, which is to improve Synthomer's earnings
power through self-help, strategic focus and expected end-market volume
growth."
A webcast presentation for analysts and investors will take place at 9:00am UK
time today, accessible via our website at www.synthomer.com
(http://www.synthomer.com) or on https://brrmedia.news/SYNT_FY25
(https://brrmedia.news/SYNT_FY25) . This will also be available for playback
after the event.
Further information:
Investors: Faisal Tabbah, Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0) 1279 775 306
Media: Nick Hasell, FTI Consulting Tel: +44 (0) 203 727 1340
Notes
(1.) Constant currency revenue and profit measures retranslate current
year results using the prior year's average exchange rates.
(2.) William Blythe and the Compounds business, which combined
contributed revenue of £28.9m and EBITDA of £3.6m in 2025 (2024: £63.5m and
£6.1m respectively), are classed as discontinued operations throughout this
announcement.
(3.) Operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and Special
Items.
(4.) Underlying performance excludes Special Items unless otherwise
stated.
(5.)( ) Free Cash Flow is defined as the movement in net debt
before financing activities, foreign exchange and the cash impact of Special
Items, asset disposals and business combinations.
(6.) Cash and cash equivalents together with short and long-term
borrowings.
Synthomer plc is a leading supplier of high-performance, highly specialised
polymers and ingredients that play vital roles in key sectors such as
coatings, construction, adhesives, and health and protection - growing markets
for customers who serve billions of end users worldwide. Headquartered in
London, UK and listed there since 1971, we employ c.3,800 employees across our
five innovation centres of excellence and 29 manufacturing sites across
Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia. With more than 6,000 blue-chip
customers and £1.7bn in continuing revenue in 2025, our business is built
around three divisions, serving customers in attractive end markets where
demand is driven by global megatrends including urbanisation, demographic
change, climate change and sustainability, and shifting economic power.
In Coatings & Construction Solutions, our specialist polymers enhance the
sustainability and performance of a wide range of coatings and construction
products. We serve customers in applications including architectural and
masonry coatings, mortar modification, waterproofing and flooring, fibre
bonding, and energy solutions. In Adhesive Solutions our products help our
customers bond, modify and compatibilise surfaces and components for
applications including tapes and labels, packaging, hygiene, tyres and plastic
modification, improving permeability, strength, elasticity, damping,
dispersion and grip. In Health & Protection and Performance Materials we
are a world-leading supplier of water-based polymers for medical gloves, and a
major European manufacturer of high-performance binders, foams and other
products serving customers in a range of end markets.
Our purpose is creating innovative and sustainable solutions for the benefit
of customers and society. Around 20% of our sales volumes are from new and
patent protected products. At our innovation centres of excellence in the UK,
China, Germany, Malaysia and Ohio, USA we collaborate closely with our
customers to develop new products and enhance existing ones tailored to their
needs, with an increasing range of sustainability benefits. Our 2030
decarbonisation targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets
initiative as being in line with what the latest climate science says is
necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and since 2021 we have
held the London Stock Exchange Green Economy Mark, which recognises green
technology businesses making a significant contribution to a more sustainable,
low-carbon economy. Find us at www.synthomer.com (http://www.synthomer.com) or
search for Synthomer on LinkedIn. Legal Entity Identifier (LEI):
213800EHT3TI1KPQQJ56.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REVIEW
Strong operational execution and a resolute focus on 'self-help' cost
reduction programmes helped us mitigate weak demand and deliver margin
improvement and positive Free Cash Flow in 2025. The changing competitive
dynamics in our sector have reinforced our commitment to a strategy of
focusing on differentiated, speciality products for selected attractive end
markets.
Controlling the controllables while driving further specialisation
Further specialisation is at the heart of our strategy, because speciality
products with defined end-market benefits will be the greatest drivers of our
growth over time. Improving our operating leverage in the most specialised
areas of our portfolio - and anticipating the demands of customers in terms of
service, innovation and sustainability - is the clear roadmap to achieving our
medium-term growth, margin and returns ambitions.
Market conditions in 2025 and the start of 2026 have reinforced the urgency of
the strategic transformation towards specialisation that we began in October
2022. The chemicals sector was already in a prolonged period of suppressed
demand long before global tariff changes fed further volatility - and while we
have limited direct exposure to tariffs, partly thanks to our 'in region for
region' manufacturing footprint, adjusting to tariffs had a clear impact on
customers, some of whom decided to 'wait and see'. Underlying structural
shifts in the industry are also changing the competitive landscape, in base
chemicals in particular. All these factors spur us on to make our business
even more agile and adaptable, so that we can anticipate and respond to the
needs of our high-quality customers in their fundamentally attractive end
markets.
At the same time, we have to safeguard our financial position so that we can
continue to compete and grow. In the face of the volatile market conditions
across the sector, we have rigorously prioritised what is within our control,
delivering robust cash, earnings and margin performance while continuing to
focus, simplify and strengthen our business in accordance with our strategy
set out in 2022. Since then, gross margin has increased by c.500bps, a
substantial improvement in our operating leverage to activity levels, and over
the same period we have reduced net debt from £1,024.9m to £575.0m, in part
through three non-core divestments. As described in more detail in the CFO's
Introduction to the Financial Review, we have worked constructively with our
lenders to maintain a stable financial platform for delivery of the Group's
plans.
Positive cash and margin performance in 2025
Our 2025 revenue of £1,739.2m (2024: £1,933.1m) and EBITDA of £136.5m for
the continuing Group (2024: £143.1m) were in line with expectations. They
reflect a 7.2% reduction in volumes as a result of the soft demand
environment, offset by further improved gross and EBITDA margin performance.
This was underpinned by the expansion of our multi-year cost-saving and
reliability improvement programmes and the ongoing strategic re-allocation of
capital and other resources towards the higher margin, more resilient
speciality solutions in our portfolio.
The Group delivered positive Free Cash Flow for the year, with a cash inflow
in the second half as expected. Year-end net debt of £575.0m (H1 2025:
£638.3m, FY 2024: £597.0m) reflects our rigorous focus on profit and cash
management, supported in part by the £50m receivables purchasing arrangement
with Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad Group ('KLK') put in place in December 2025.
The Group's covenant net debt:EBITDA as at 31 December 2025 was 4.7x, well
within the requirement of less than 5.25x.
Divisionally, Adhesive Solutions (AS) continued to regain share and enhance
margins, through successful delivery of its reliability and performance
improvement programme. The division is increasingly focused on growth
supported by our speciality product capacity investment in Texas and
sustainability partnerships with key customers, such as Henkel.
End-market demand across the Coatings & Construction Solutions (CCS)
division varied throughout the year, particularly following the global tariff
changes announced at the start of Q2. A slightly improved trend in coatings
towards the end of the year was offset by a weaker period for construction and
consumer sub-segments. Weak demand for energy solutions continued through the
year, reflecting low levels of oil and gas drilling activity.
Health & Protection volumes for the medical glove market from both new and
existing customers was disappointing for the year as a whole, although
encouragingly, activity levels began to improve in Q4. Margins in this
business remain substantially below pre-pandemic levels. The remaining
businesses in the Health & Protection and Performance Materials (HPPM)
division also had a mixed year, with a relatively strong contribution from
Speciality Vinyl Polymers and in paper end markets, offset by continued
challenges in the acrylate monomers business.
Focus on self-help cost savings - and continued investment in people
Given the market environment, we are continuously reviewing our operating and
capital expenditures and working capital balances, to identify additional cash
savings opportunities within our control. This included a thorough review of
our headcount in the second half of 2025, which resulted in the difficult
decision to remove around 250 roles from the organisation. We have also
continued to deliver against our existing multi-year cost savings programmes,
including the Group-wide procurement optimisation programme. Taken together,
our operating cost reduction programmes are expected to deliver c.£ 20-25m in
incremental gross benefits in 2026. This builds on the £30m we delivered
through our self-help plans in 2025.
The decision to reduce headcount does not change the fact that our
entrepreneurial teams are essential to Synthomer's future success in serving
customers and delivering outstanding products. We continue to invest in
building teams and a high-performance culture that is inclusive, collaborative
and growth-orientated. We have sustained our commitment to our graduate
programme, and to our Leadership Academy, which this year launched a new
senior leadership programme 'Aspire'. I would like to thank all our people for
their resilience and commitment this year.
Continuing progress on our specialisation strategy
Over the past three years, we have materially improved the profile of our
portfolio, with speciality products now representing 55% of revenues and
substantially more in EBITDA, whilst also growing our exposure to markets in
the US and Asia, which now make up more than half of our revenues. In 2025 we
continued to streamline our manufacturing footprint, passing the milestone of
operating less than 30 sites, down from 43 sites in 2022. This included the
divestment of William Blythe in May, alongside further plant rationalisation.
These actions simplify the business, reduce capital intensity and release
resources to enhance our focus on customers and products where we have the
greatest opportunities. Our new target is to operate 25 sites or fewer.
In August 2025 we announced our intention to broaden the divestment programme
in order to accelerate deleveraging and focus the business portfolio further.
We currently have four divestment processes underway and will always keep the
rest of the business portfolio under review.
We also continue to enhance our commercial opportunities through partnerships.
Following the formation of our technology partnership for the US medical glove
market in 2024, during the year we secured an agreement with Lummus to license
technology in our acrylate monomers business, a partnership to expand
Speciality Vinyl Polymers' reach in China, and a partnership with Neste and
PCS to manufacture bio-based nitrile latexes.
Customer-driven innovation and sustainability
Innovation and sustainability are important differentiators for many of our
customers, and therefore key to value creation for us. Our customers'
ambitions increasingly demand innovative products with demonstrable
sustainability benefits, so embedding a mindset which prioritises them helps
drive both our commercial success and our purpose of creating specialist
polymer solutions for the benefit of customers and society.
In 2025 we sustained our consistent record of ensuring that new and protected
products (NPP) make up at least 20% of our sales volume. In response to
customer demand, we continue to build our innovation pipeline, with 43 new
products launched this year with defined sustainability benefits. Our
Innovation Taskforce, set up with Board involvement last year, helps drive the
pace of change. To give a clearer measure of the commercial impact of our
innovation work, we are changing our innovation KPI away from reporting NPP at
the revenue level to focus solely on new products at the gross margin (GM)
level. In 2025 we delivered 8.2% GM vitality (2024: 7.5%).
There were a number of commercial highlights across the year. In May 2025, AS
announced a new strategic partnership and supply agreement with Henkel,
helping to commercialise our new CLIMA-branded products, which help customers
substantially reduce their carbon emissions. We have now achieved ISCC+
accreditation for 11 sites, enabling us to offer customers our BIO and CIRCLE
products using a mass balance approach. We also retained our silver EcoVadis
rating, are now in the top 2% of rated companies for sustainable procurement,
and continue to make progress on our Vision 2030 sustainability roadmap.
Staying focused on process safety
We achieved a recordable injury case rate of 0.15 outperforming our target for
the third consecutive year and remain in the top quartile for our industry. We
continue to focus on improving our process safety metrics, which increased
slightly despite improvements in several key sites and a reduction in
incidents with the highest potential consequences in the year.
Current trading and outlook
Overall trading in the first quarter of 2026 was in line with our expectations
and ahead of prior year, with much-improved CCS and stable AS performances
offsetting a slower start in parts of the HPPM division. All businesses had
improving momentum through the quarter.
Since the start of the Iran conflict we have experienced substantial changes
in our operating and commercial environment both up- and downstream. Our focus
on speed and agility, 'in region for region' manufacturing footprint and
strong procurement sourcing capabilities mean we are well-positioned to
respond to these changes. Significant increases in raw material and to a
lesser degree energy costs since the start of the conflict are being passed
through in substantial pricing adjustments, while shipping volumes in several
base chemical product areas are increasing due to disruption to the global
distribution networks of competitors, particularly those based in Asia.
To-date our global supply chains have remained robust and our joint venture
manufacturing operation and sales office in the Middle East are both currently
operating as normal. As a result, we are expecting robustly positive
period-on-period volume and margin developments in the second quarter of the
year and potentially thereafter, based on our latest trading data, and subject
to developments in the Iran conflict situation.
Clearly the geopolitical and market context is highly volatile and end-market
demand uncertain. We therefore make no changes to our 2026 outlook at this
stage: overall we expect to make year-on-year progress driven primarily by
self-help actions. Specifically, we anticipate that full year contributions
from our cost reduction programmes and product investments made in AS during
2025, ongoing margin progress in our speciality businesses and Health &
Protection volume and margin improvement will be partially offset by wage
inflation and normalisation of bonus accrual in the year. At the same time,
the longer the trading conditions experienced in Q2 persist, the greater the
upside risks for the year.
In the medium term, we remain committed to our ambition to more than double
Synthomer's earnings, through continued reliability and cost actions,
end-market volume recovery and strategic delivery.
Michael Willome
Chief Executive Officer
30 April 2026
FINANCIAL REVIEW - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER'S INTRODUCTION
The Group continues to focus on cost, capital discipline and maintaining a
stable financial platform while the near-term demand environment in our
end-markets remains uncertain.
Controlling the controllables
The fundamental building blocks of long-term value remain our strong and
enduring customer relationships in attractive end markets, differentiated
products and robust and efficient manufacturing operations across our global
footprint, all underpinned by our talented and committed people. We continue
to expect that end-market growth will return to our core speciality chemicals
markets after what has been a prolonged cyclical downturn, and when it does,
we believe Synthomer is in a much stronger position to capitalise on its
opportunities than ever before - and the performance of the business since the
start of the Iran conflict disruption demonstrates this. In the meantime, we
continue to focus on delivering further strategic change while tightly
managing costs, capital and our other resources.
Cost savings
During 2025, we continued to focus on further improving cost competitiveness
and reliability. This included further strengthening of our supplier network
for key raw materials and improving a range of planning, procurement and other
processes, including through the increasing adoption of AI-based tools.
As described in the CEO Review, our rigorous focus on cost management is
expected to deliver c.£20-25m in benefits on an annual run-rate basis by
2026, having achieved c.£30m in 2025.
Capital allocation and portfolio management
Differentiated capital allocation and portfolio management remain important
pillars of our strategy. In 2025 we focused our capital expenditure on
sustenance and SHE as well as a few carefully selected growth opportunities,
such as the investment to increase APO capacity in Texas which came onstream
in July. We anticipate a c.£15m reduction in the capital expenditure budget
in 2026.
The Company's cash performance also benefitted from rigorous focus on
inventory and other working capital management (with further opportunities in
2026), and pension, tax and other cash outflows were lower year-on-year as
expected. The successful divestment of William Blythe in May also resulted in
a net cash inflow of £24.2m, which was partially offset by cash restructuring
costs of £19.2m in the year.
Robust Free Cash Flow and lower net debt
These measures all helped to achieve an improved year-end net debt position of
£575.0m (2024: £597.0m) and Free Cash Flow of £56.6m (2024: £(54.7)m).
Both were also supported by the £50m trade receivables purchasing arrangement
with KLK, Synthomer's largest shareholder, in December 2025, which provided
additional short-term financial flexibility and ensured a prudent level of
banking covenant headroom at year end. Under the arrangement, KLK purchased
£50m of Company trade receivables which were not eligible for inclusion in
the Company's existing committed €200m non-recourse receivables financing
facility. As anticipated, the total of receivables purchased under the
arrangement and in the existing committed receivables financing facility
together did not exceed the committed facility. The Group also notes that its
largest shareholder KLK remains supportive of our strategy and performance.
As a consequence of all these efforts and despite the slowdown in volume
experienced in the year, the Group's net debt: EBITDA for the purposes of the
leverage ratio covenant increased modestly from 4.6x at 31 December 2024 to
4.7x at 31 December 2025, well within the required covenant of less than
5.25x.
In 2026, the Group expects to be broadly Free Cash Flow neutral after
adjusting for the unwind of the £50m receivables purchasing arrangement with
KLK.
Stable financial platform
An important focus for the Group in 2026 is refinancing our key committed
borrowing facilities, principally the €300m RCF maturing in July 2027 and
the UK Export Finance (UKEF) facilities of €288m and $230m both maturing in
October 2027.
On 30 April 2026, Synthomer refinanced the existing RCF and UKEF facilities,
as described in more detail on p.11. The refinancing provides a material
extension of maturity dates as compared with the existing facilities,
financial covenant relaxation through the life of the new facilities, and
continuing RCF access to support the Group's liquidity.
The terms of the refinancing reflect the continued constructive engagement
between the Group and our lenders and it has been agreed to provide the Group
with appropriate near- and medium-term liquidity and financial covenant
headroom alongside a covenant package consistent with the Group's current
business plan.
In the period we also extended the maturity of the committed €200m
non-recourse receivables financing facility to 31 July 2027.
The Group's undrawn committed liquidity as at 31 December 2025 was £385.5m.
We will continue to keep Synthomer's capital structure under review and give
consideration to a range of options to reduce leverage towards our medium-term
target of 1-2x, including the divestment processes described elsewhere.
Targeting growth in the medium and long term
Our near-term focus is very much on deleveraging, divestments and preserving
cash flow through a period of exceptional turbulence in end markets. In the
longer term, we remain committed to our previously outlined medium-term
targets. Driven by the growth we expect as end-market demand recovers, we
anticipate mid-single-digit revenue growth over the cycle on a constant
currency basis. We aim to bring our EBITDA margin above 15%, driven by
specialisation, sustainable innovation and greater differentiation, and
supported by business excellence and further simplified manufacturing
operations and supply chains, in line with our strategy. Over time, our goal
is to drive return on invested capital into the mid-teens.
Lily Liu
Chief Financial Officer
30 April 2026
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Group revenue, EBITDA and operating profit - continuing operations
Revenue for the continuing Group of £1,739.2m (2024: £1,933.1m) decreased by
9.9% in constant currency. This principally reflects a 7.2% decrease in volume
due to softer end-market demand since global tariff changes were announced in
Q2 and ongoing global competition in base chemicals businesses, as well as
pass-through of lower raw material input prices.
EBITDA for the continuing Group of £136.5m (2024: £143.1m) reflects lower
volumes partially offset by expanded self-help cost actions and strategic
reorientation to higher-margin speciality businesses as described in the
divisional performance reviews, with EBITDA margin increasing to 7.8% (2025:
7.4%). Corporate costs decreased to £18.0m in the period (2024: £23.7m),
principally reflecting lower bonus accrual. Depreciation and amortisation was
£98.9m (2024: £95.0m), resulting in underlying operating profit for the
continuing Group of £37.6m (2024: £48.1m).
On a statutory basis, including the Special Items excluded from underlying
measures (see below), this resulted in an operating loss for the continuing
Group of £(50.2)m (2024: £(26.2)m).
CCS AS HPPM Corp. Continuing Dis-continued Total Group
operations
Full year ended 31 December 2025, £m
Revenue 699.2 570.8 469.2 1,739.2 28.9 1,768.1
EBITDA 64.3 66.0 24.2 (18.0) 136.5 3.6 140.1
EBITDA % of revenue 9.2% 11.6% 5.2% 7.8% 7.9%
Operating profit/(loss) - underlying 38.4 31.2 (2.1) (29.9) 37.6 3.1 40.7
Operating profit/(loss) - statutory 6.8 10.8 (33.0) (34.8) (50.2) (6.1) (56.3)
Full year ended 31 December 2024, £m CCS AS HPPM Corp. Continuing Dis-continued Total Group
operations
Revenue 790.5 588.4 554.2 1,933.1 63.5 1,996.6
EBITDA 85.9 47.9 33.0 (23.7) 143.1 6.1 149.2
EBITDA % of revenue 10.9% 8.1% 6.0% 7.4% 7.5%
Operating profit/(loss) - underlying 60.6 15.0 6.1 (33.6) 48.1 4.7 52.8
Operating profit/(loss) - statutory 32.5 (9.5) (11.6) (37.6) (26.2) 0.3 (25.9)
Special Items - continuing operations
The following items of income and expense have been reported as 'Special Items
- continuing operations' and have been excluded from EBITDA and other
underlying metrics:
Full year ended 31 December 2025 2024
£m £m
Amortisation of acquired intangibles (44.4) (45.1)
Restructuring and site closure costs (including share of JV) (14.0) (15.4)
Impairment charge (22.5) (5.7)
Pension past service cost (3.2) (4.4)
Sale of business (2.7) (3.1)
Acquisition costs and related gains 0.1 (0.6)
Software as a Service implementation costs (1.1) -
Total impact on operating profit - continuing operations (87.8) (74.3)
Loss on extinguishment of financing facilities - (1.4)
Total impact on loss before taxation - continuing operations (87.8) (75.7)
Taxation Special Items - 7.5
Taxation on Special Items 1.7 7.1
Total impact on loss for the period - continuing operations (86.1) (61.1)
Amortisation of acquired intangibles reflects the amortisation on the customer
lists, patents, trademarks and trade secrets that arose on historic
acquisitions. The intangible assets arising on the acquisition are amortised
over a period of 8-20 years.
Restructuring and site closure costs in 2025 mainly comprised £3.5m of costs
in relation to the Group-wide procurement optimisation programme, a £1.2m
charge in relation to the ongoing integration of the acquired adhesive resins
business, and £7.5m in relation to ongoing functional and global site
rationalisation, and £1.1m in relation to an onerous contract following the
earlier divestment of the European tirecord business.
In 2025, a £28.5m impairment charge was booked for the Acrylate Monomers
business partially offset by a £6.0m impairment credit posted in relation to
a reversal on a prior impairment of the nitrile latex plant in Malaysia.
The pension past service cost includes a £3.2m charge in relation to a
one-off non-cash past service cost arising from a revision to the calculation
of late retirement benefits in the US defined benefit pension scheme.
Sale of businesses costs of £2.7m in 2025 mainly comprise costs incurred in
relation to potential future divestments.
Acquisition costs and related gains of £0.1m in 2025 relate to refunds of
pension costs associated with the acquisition of the adhesive resins business.
Software as a Service implementation costs of £1.1m primarily represent the
cost of setting up a new customer relationship management tool.
The Taxation on Special Items - continuing operations in 2025 was £1.7m,
mainly relating to deferred tax arising on the amortisation of acquired
intangibles and restructuring and site closure costs.
Discontinued operations
On 30 May 2025, the Group completed the divestment of William Blythe Limited
('William Blythe') to its management team alongside H2 Equity Partners,
resulting in a net cash inflow of £24.2m.
In the period, £9.9m of net losses were recognised in relation to Special
Items - discontinued operations (2024: £4.4m loss). This mainly comprised
£8.9m of loss on disposal of William Blythe.
Finance costs
Full year ended 31 December 2025 2024
£m £m
Interest payable 63.8 68.0
Interest receivable (4.7) (12.1)
Net interest expense on defined benefit obligation 1.4 1.7
Interest element of lease payments 3.4 2.4
Finance costs - underlying 63.9 60.0
Loss on extinguishment of financing facilities - 1.4
Finance costs - statutory 63.9 61.4
Underlying finance costs increased to £63.9m (2024: £60.0m) and comprise
interest on the Group's financing facilities, interest rate swaps,
amortisation of associated debt costs and IAS 19 pension interest costs in
respect of our defined benefit pension schemes. The reduction in net interest
payable mainly reflects reduced bond interest following repayment of the
senior unsecured loan notes maturing July 2025, partially offset by additional
factoring and reduced interest receivable on lower cash balances.
Taxation
The Group's underlying tax charge for continuing operations was £37.7m (2024:
£4.0m credit), representing an effective tax rate on the underlying loss
before tax of (143.3)% (2024: 33.6%). This year's effective tax rate is
principally driven by the partial derecognition of the UK, German and US
deferred tax assets as well as the geographical mix of profits. The Group is
within the scope of the OECD Pillar Two model rules which came into effect
from 1 January 2024. Management has performed an assessment of the Group's
potential exposure to Pillar Two top-up tax for 2025 and based on that
assessment, transitional safe-harbour relief should apply to all jurisdictions
in which the Group operates. Therefore the Group does not expect an exposure
to Pillar Two top-up tax.
Non-controlling interest
The Group continues to hold 70% of Revertex (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and its
subsidiaries. These entities form a relatively minor part of the Group, so the
impact on underlying performance from non-controlling interests is not
significant.
Earnings per share
Earnings per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of
shares in issue during the year. The weighted average number of shares for
2025 was 163.5m (2024: 163.5m). As at 30 April 2026, the Company had 163.5m
shares in issue.
Underlying earnings per share was (37.2) pence for the year, a decrease from
(2.5) pence in 2024. The statutory earnings per share was (96.0) pence (2024:
(44.4) pence).
Currency
The Group presents its consolidated financial statements in sterling and
conducts business in many currencies. As a result, it is subject to foreign
currency risk due to exchange rate movements, which affect the Group's
translation of the results and underlying net assets of its operations. To
manage this risk, the Group uses foreign currency borrowings, forward
contracts and currency swaps to hedge non-sterling net assets, which are
predominantly denominated in euros, US dollars and Malaysian ringgits.
In 2025, the continuing Group experienced a translation headwind of £0.2m on
EBITDA, with average FX rates against our three principal currencies of
€1.17, $1.32 and MYR 5.64 to the pound.
Given the global nature of our customer and supplier base, the impact of
transactional foreign exchange can be very different from translational
foreign exchange. We are able to partially mitigate the transaction impact by
matching supply and administrative cost currencies with sales currencies. To
reduce volatility which might affect the Group's cash or income statement, the
Group hedges net currency transaction exposures at the point of confirmed
order, using forward foreign exchange contracts. The Group's policy is, where
practicable, to hedge all exposures on monetary assets and liabilities.
Cash performance
The following table summarises the movement in net debt and is in the format
used by management:
Full year ended 31 December 2025 2024
£m £m
Opening net debt (597.0) (499.7)
Underlying operating profit (excluding joint ventures) 39.3 51.2
Movement in working capital 72.8 (24.9)
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 86.0 84.3
Amortisation of other intangible assets 13.4 12.1
Net capital expenditure (86.3) (83.2)
Operating Cash Flow(1) 125.2 39.5
Net interest paid (60.6) (54.6)
Tax received/(paid) 0.5 (18.1)
Pension funding (5.3) (19.8)
Adjustment for gain on sale of assets (1.9) (4.3)
Adjustment for share-based payments charge 2.6 1.6
Adjustment for movement of provision (3.9) -
Dividends received from joint ventures - 1.0
Free Cash Flow 56.6 (54.7)
Cash impact of settlement of interest rate derivative contracts 0.6 -
Cash impact of restructuring and site closure costs (17.7) (20.2)
Cash impact of software as a service costs (1.1) -
Cash impact of acquisition costs (0.4) (1.7)
Payment of EC fine settlement amount - (39.1)
Proceeds on sale of business 21.3 20.5
Rights issue costs - (4.7)
Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities (12.4) (12.1)
Dividends paid to minority interests (2.1) (0.5)
Foreign exchange and other movements (22.8) 15.2
Movement in net debt 22.0 (97.3)
Closing net debt (575.0) (597.0)
(1 ) Operating Cash Flow is defined as Total Group EBITDA
plus/minus net working capital movement less capital expenditure.
Underlying operating profit (excluding joint ventures) decreased to £39.3m
reflecting the trading performance described above.
The net working capital inflow of £72.8m principally reflects an increase in
committed receivables facility utilisation and receivable sales of £77.2m
(see below), as well as lower inventory levels at year end.
In December 2022, the Group put in place non-recourse receivables financing
facilities for a maximum committed amount of €200m. Factored receivables
assigned under the facilities amounted to £105.6m net at 31 December 2025 (30
June 2025: £114.1m net, 31 December 2024: £87.3m net). Under the facilities,
the risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to the assignees. The
duration of the committed receivables financing facility was recently extended
to 31 July 2027.
In December 2025, the Group entered into a temporary trade receivables
purchasing arrangement with a subsidiary of its largest shareholder KLK. Under
the arrangement, the Group sold to KLK c.£50m of trade receivables due on or
before 28 February 2026, which were not eligible for inclusion in the
committed €200m non-recourse receivables financing facility. The purchasing
arrangement terms were agreed on an arms-length basis and were consistent with
terms available from third-party market participants for an arrangement of
this nature.
Depreciation was broadly flat, while amortisation of other intangibles
increased due to the Pathway business transformation programme. Net capital
expenditure was £86.3m (2024: £83.2m), principally for recurring SHE and
sustenance expenditure, the Group's investment in APO capacity in Texas and
Pathway. The Group anticipates lower levels of capital expenditure in FY 2026
compared with FY 2025.
Net interest paid increased to £60.6m (2024: £54.6m) reflecting reduced
interest receivable on lower cash balances and increased interest costs on
factored receivables in the year.
Net tax received was £0.5m (2024: £18.1m paid) reflecting repayments of
prior year tax and lower tax payments due on account.
In the year, £5.3m in cash contributions were made to the Group's pensions
schemes, substantially reduced from the prior year (2024: £19.8m) which
included c.£17.4m in previously agreed deferred contributions to the UK
pension scheme which are not expected to recur.
The cash impact of Special Items including restructuring and site closure
costs was an outflow of £19.2m.
Proceeds on sale of business of £21.3m comprises £24.2m from the sale of the
William Blythe noted above, less £2.9m in sale of business costs related to
future divestment projects.
Group debt is denominated in euros and dollars. The euro strengthened relative
to sterling during the year, leading to a foreign exchange loss in net debt.
Financing and liquidity
At 31 December 2025, net debt was £575.0m (30 June 2025: £638.3m, 31
December 2024: £597.0m). The reduction principally reflects the positive Free
Cash Flow movements noted above and the divestment proceeds for the William
Blythe business, partially offset by restructuring and site closure costs,
capital repayment of lease liabilities, and the movements in foreign
currency-denominated net debt balances.
As at 31 December 2025, committed borrowing facilities principally comprised:
a €300m RCF maturing in July 2027, the UK Export Finance (UKEF) facilities
of €288m and $230m both maturing October 2027, and €350m of five-year
7.375% senior unsecured notes maturing May 2029. At 31 December 2025, the RCF
was drawn down by £48.0m and the UKEF facilities were fully drawn. The
remaining €150m in 3.875% senior unsecured notes maturing July 2025 were
repaid during the year.
The Group's undrawn committed liquidity at 31 December 2025 was £385.5m,
comprising unrestricted cash and short-term deposits of £189.9m and the
undrawn portions of the RCF.
The existing RCF and the UKEF facilities are subject to one leverage ratio
covenant. The Group's net debt: EBITDA for the purposes of the leverage ratio
covenant increased to 4.7x at 31 December 2025 (31 December 2024: 4.6x),
principally due to lower EBITDA in the period, but well within the 5.25x
requirement. Note that the definitions used for the covenant test include a
number of adjustments to the net debt and EBITDA figures shown elsewhere;
typically these definitional adjustments increase the covenant ratio by
0.4-0.5x compared with using reported net debt and EBITDA.
Refinancing
On 30 April 2026, Synthomer refinanced its existing RCF and UKEF facilities
(the 'Refinancing'), being implemented through a wholly owned subsidiary of
Synthomer plc, through which a new €300m RCF and new UKEF debt facilities of
€288m and $230m (the same size as the Group's previous facilities) have been
made available. The refinanced debt matures in February 2029.
The new RCF and new UKEF facilities include a net debt:EBITDA leverage ratio
covenant which will be tested against covenant levels on a quarterly basis and
a minimum liquidity covenant which will be tested on a monthly basis. The net
debt:EBITDA ratios required under the covenant for year end 2026, 2027 and
2028 have been set at not more than 6.25x, 5.25x, and 4.25x respectively, with
intra-year levels aligned to the Group's expected cash flow profile, starting
from 30 September 2026 (with no test as at 30 June 2026). The Refinancing is
also supported by a comprehensive security and guarantee package provided by
certain members of the Group, including pursuant to the 'permitted liens'
permissions under Synthomer's senior unsecured notes (the 'Notes').
The Notes remain in place, and the terms of the Notes indenture and maturity
of the Notes have not been amended. In connection with the Refinancing,
certain of the Company's subsidiaries (which hold the Group's operations in
the USA): have become "unrestricted subsidiaries" under the Notes indenture;
have, to the extent applicable, been released as Notes guarantors; and have
granted guarantees and security in support of the Refinancing.
Following the Refinancing, the Group expects net financing costs of c.£70m in
2026.
The Company has agreed customary fees with its lenders and UKEF in connection
with the Refinancing. Subject to certain conditions, the new UKEF facility
lenders have the option to elect to receive certain of these fees in the form
of ordinary shares in the capital of the Company (rather than in cash) at a
price per share equal to 37.5p per share. Based on current expressions of
interest, the Company expects to issue new ordinary shares representing less
than 0.7% of the current issued share capital of the Company as a result of
the share election option for these fees.
Lenders will also have a right to receive an exit fee on repayment or maturity
of the new facilities. The exit fee will be equivalent to 1.25% of
commitments. The new UKEF facility lenders may, subject to certain conditions,
elect to receive certain of these fees in the form of ordinary shares in the
capital of the Company (rather than in cash) at a price per share based on the
90-day volume weighted average price as at the day prior to the repayment or
maturity.
Balance sheet
Net assets of the Group decreased by 17.4% to £914.5m at 31 December 2025,
mainly reflecting the loss in the year.
Provisions
The Group provisions balance decreased to £21.4m (31 December 2024: £35.3m)
reflecting cash utilisation of £4.2m and the sale of William Blythe which
held a total provision of £2.4m.
Retirement benefit plans
The Group's principal funded defined benefit pension schemes are in the UK and
the USA and are both closed to new entrants and future accrual. The Group also
operates an unfunded defined benefit scheme in Germany and various other
defined contribution overseas retirement benefit arrangements.
The Group's net retirement obligation decreased by £10.1m to £39.6m at 31
December 2025 (31 December 2024: £49.7m), reflecting changes in the market
value of assets and the valuation of liabilities in accordance with IAS 19,
including a surplus of £40.3m for the UK scheme. The net retirement
obligation reduction is driven by £5.3m of cash contributions and actuarial
gains of £13.6m, partially offset by exchange losses of £2.8m.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this document
may constitute 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the operations,
performance and financial condition of the Group. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve uncertainty, since future events and
circumstances can cause results or developments to differ materially from
those anticipated. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and
information available at the date of preparation of this report and the
Company is under no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. No
statement in this document should be construed as a profit forecast.
DIVISIONAL REVIEW - CONTINUING OPERATIONS
Coatings & Construction Solutions (CCS)
Our most speciality-focused division experienced a challenging demand
environment in 2025 as customers and end users responded to global tariff
changes and uneven activity levels in sectors including energy and
construction. The division initiated further cost efficiency measures while
continuing to invest in its long-term profitable growth opportunities,
including its market-driven innovation pipeline.
Full year ended 31 December 2025 2024 Change Constant currency(1)
£m £m % %
Revenue 699.2 790.5 (11.5)% (11.6)%
Volumes (ktes) 478.4 513.1 (6.8)%
EBITDA 64.3 85.9 (25.1)% (25.1)%
EBITDA % of revenue 9.2% 10.9%
Operating profit - underlying 38.4 60.6 (36.6)% (36.6)%
Operating profit - statutory 6.8 32.5 (79.1)%
(1) Underlying constant currency revenue and profit retranslate current
year results using the prior year's average exchange rates.
Performance
Divisional revenue decreased by 11.6% in constant currency to £699.2m (2024:
£790.5m), driven by a 6.8% decrease in volume compared with 2024, changes in
mix, and lower pricing reflecting pass-through of raw material costs. Changes
in oil and gas drilling activity led to de-stocking in our high-margin energy
solutions business in H1, which began to stabilise in H2, while demand in
coatings and consumer end markets was volatile, partly in response to global
tariff changes. Volumes in the USA were particularly affected by customer
caution and smaller order sizes, as well as customer formulation changes, and
CCS responded through measures including localising some production from
Europe to the USA. The construction segment began to show modest signs of
volume improvement in European markets, albeit from low levels. A number of
new business wins and regains towards the end of the period reflected a
refreshed focus on addressable growth markets and changes in the division's
management team.
Divisional gross margin performance was also mixed. An improvement from low
levels in construction, driven by the launch of new products, and relatively
stable performances in coatings and consumer segments, were offset by adverse
mix effects in energy solutions. CCS enhanced its focus on cost reduction
initiatives, including in raw material procurement as part of Synthomer's
Group-wide procurement optimisation plan. The division delivered c.£13m in
cost savings in the year. However this was offset by negative operating
leverage to lower volumes. As a result, CCS generated EBITDA of £64.3m (2024:
£85.9m), equating to an EBITDA margin of 9.2% (2024: 10.9%).
CCS is typically the most seasonally weighted of our divisions to the first
half.
Strategy
In response to market conditions, CCS accelerated and reprioritised a number
of asset optimisation projects and other cost and capacity management
activities during the year, including temporarily idling excess capacity,
reducing shift patterns and undertaking a broader review of operating costs
including headcount. 2026 performance is expected to benefit from the
annualisation of a number of these projects which completed during the course
of 2025. The division is also implementing a number of inventory management
measures to enhance cash flow.
In addition to these short-term measures, CCS remains focused on strengthening
its leading position as a manufacturer of high-performance speciality products
and materials, including through market-driven innovation. This included the
launch of a number of new products for the construction segment in 2025 and
increased overall product vitality. This will continue, as we adapt our
product portfolios for market areas where we see growth opportunities, such as
battery technology and products that support data centre construction.
We also continue to embed a more end-market aligned approach across the
division, with key account management and value selling allowing us to
leverage our leading market positions in niche European markets into other,
faster-growing geographies including China, the Middle East and USA.
Adhesive Solutions (AS)
Strong earnings and margin momentum continued despite subdued underlying
market conditions, driven by further progress on cost and reliability
improvement, together with an increased focus on innovation and global growth
initiatives.
Full year ended 31 December 2025 2024 Change Constant currency(1)
£m £m % %
Revenue 570.8 588.4 (3.0)% (1.5)%
Volumes (ktes) 266.0 269.3 (1.2)%
EBITDA 66.0 47.9 +37.8% +39.5%
EBITDA % of revenue 11.6% 8.1%
Operating profit - underlying 31.2 15.0 +108.0% +110.0%
Operating profit/(loss) - statutory 10.8 (9.5) n/m
(1) Underlying constant currency revenue and profit retranslate current
year results using the prior year's average exchange rates.
Performance
Divisional revenue decreased 1.5% in constant currency to £570.8m (2024:
£588.4m), broadly in line with sales volumes after a slowing of demand from
Q2 as end customers responded to global tariff changes. Volumes were also
constrained by a prolonged operational shutdown at our Longview site in Texas,
USA, partly to increase APO capacity. Third-party contractor issues meant the
turnaround took longer than expected, and led to temporary constraints in
deliveries to customers. With the project completed in July, however, the
division now has capacity for volume growth in higher-margin speciality
products.
Overall, the division demonstrated resilient pricing and improved gross
margin, led by its speciality product portfolio, which accounted for c.60% of
AS revenue in the year. Many base products remained under pricing pressure
from oversupply and global competition, particularly in European markets,
although in certain categories the business benefitted modestly from selective
competitor capacity reductions or closures.
Geographically, revenue grew in Asia and was resilient in the USA, but lower
in Europe. From an end-market perspective, assembly, tyres, and tapes and
labels had a robust period while packaging and hygiene revenues were more
subdued.
Divisional EBITDA increased significantly, by 39.5% in constant currency, to
£66.0m (2024: £47.9m), with EBITDA margin increasing by 350bps to 11.6%
(2024: 8.1%). This was principally due to lower operating costs driven by the
reliability and performance improvement programme put in place in 2023
delivering c.£11m in 2025, supported by raw material cost savings achieved
through the Group-wide procurement optimisation programme.
Strategy
AS is focused on a number of strategic growth initiatives designed to build on
our leading positions in a range of speciality adhesive applications in
attractive end markets. These are often built around multi-year relationships
with high-quality customers, which leverage our global production network and
comprehensive technology and service platform. Our focus on supporting
customers' ambitions for sustainability, circularity and recyclability is key
to many such partnerships.
In April 2025, we announced a strategic partnership and supply agreement with
Henkel, focused on enabling carbon emission reductions in its hot melt
adhesive product portfolio. The year also saw our launch of CLIMA-branded
products, which deliver at least a 20% cradle-to-gate reduction in certified
product carbon footprint.
The majority of AS investment aims to strengthen our speciality portfolio in
line with the Group's differentiated steering strategy. Following our APO
capacity expansion and other actions at Longview, this will be a key growth
opportunity in the coming years. In the more volatile and competitive base
product areas (c.40% of divisional revenue) we continue to focus on enhancing
cost competitiveness and reliability, and leveraging partnerships. Our
project, launched in 2024, to strengthen our supply chain for hydrocarbon
resin production in Europe is managed under contract by Dow at its site in
Böhlen, Germany, which is now scheduled for closure at the end of 2027.
During the year we have implemented additional global partnerships to secure
our raw material supplies.
AS also continues to build on the dedicated performance improvement programme,
launched in 2023, which has transformed the adhesive resin business acquired
by Synthomer in 2022. The programme has enabled improvements in reliability
for customers and achieved c.£35m in cumulative benefits to date, by reducing
costs and improving end-to-end operations, from supplier network improvement
to production site efficiency and delivery logistics. The programme was
further expanded to target a total of at least £40m in cumulative benefits by
the end of 2026.
Health & Protection and Performance Materials (HPPM)
HPPM continued to focus on cost efficiency and unit margins as volumes were
squeezed by lower customer demand while continuing to develop new products for
the Health & Protection market, where underlying global growth drivers
remain strong. William Blythe was divested in May 2025 and our portfolio
rationalisation plans continue to progress.
Full year ended 31 December (continuing)(1) 2025 2024 Change Constant currency(2)
£m £m % %
Revenue 469.2 554.2 (15.3)% (16.5)%
Volumes (ktes) 522.5 583.3 (10.4)%
EBITDA 24.2 33.0 (26.7)% (28.5)%
EBITDA % of revenue 5.2% 6.0%
Operating (loss)/profit - underlying (2.1) 6.1 n/m n/m
Operating loss - statutory (33.0) (11.6) +184.5%
(1) Compounds and William Blythe are classified as discontinued
operations.
(2 ) Underlying constant currency revenue and profit retranslate
current year results using the prior year's average exchange rates.
Continuing divisional performance
Divisional revenue was £469.2m (2024: £554.2m), driven by a 10.4% decrease
in volume and lower prices reflecting reduced raw materials costs. Volumes in
Health & Protection decreased by 17.3% compared to 2024, as our latex
glove manufacturing customers reacted to market developments in the USA, where
the announcement in summer 2024 of tariff increases on their global
competitors from 1 January 2025 drove some pre-emptive buying activity. This
began to moderate in the second half, and demand from both new and existing
customers began to improve in Q4. We secured another income stream in H1 for
additional services from our multi-year technology partnership to support
growth in the onshore US glove market. Underlying hygiene demand growth
remains strong globally, but unit margins remained low by historical
standards.
In our Performance Materials portfolio, volumes decreased by 2.5% as market
conditions for Acrylate Monomers and SBR for carpet and foam in Europe
remained difficult. Speciality Vinyl Polymers, Antioxidants and European Paper
activities were more robust.
Divisional EBITDA decreased by 28.5% in constant currency to £24.2m (2024:
£33.0m), with an EBITDA margin of 5.2% (2024: 6.0%). The division is making
EBITDA margin progress through operating cost reductions, including from
further efficiency programmes and the closure of a small manufacturing plant
in China in June; however this was offset by negative operating leverage to
lower volumes in the Performance Materials business, with Acrylate Monomers
particularly affected.
Strategy
Much of the HPPM division has base chemicals characteristics, so our
differentiated steering approach focuses on improving cost efficiency across
our value chains while enhancing our overall value proposition to customers
through selective investment in process and product innovation and
sustainability.
Our Health & Protection business continues to focus on opportunities to
leverage our position as a global market leader in NBR manufacturing with
significant technology and manufacturing expertise. This is reflected in our
support for customers as the latex glove demand environment evolves. Examples
in 2025 include our partnership with suppliers Neste and PCS to manufacture
bio-based nitrile latexes for the glove industry. We also continue to develop
other products that aid reusability, weight reduction and high performance for
customers in this market.
We also continue to support our US partner with further technology licensing
and manufacturing expertise as they develop onshore US capacity for nitrile
latex and glove manufacture, and we are exploring other potential partnership
opportunities for this business globally that require little or no capital
investment.
In Performance Materials we signed a partnership with Lummus Technology to
license Synthomer's proprietary acrylic acid esters technology, part of the
Acrylate Monomers business, which will now reach a broader market through
Lummus' platform, and secured a major multi-year contract in our European
Paper business. Speciality Vinyl Polymers also commenced a partnership to
expand its reach in China. A number of projects are underway to deliver ISCC
PLUS-certified reductions in the carbon emissions of our production processes,
conferring sustainability benefits for customers seeking to reduce their own
value-chain carbon footprints.
In May 2025 we completed the divestment of William Blythe Limited, a non-core
inorganic chemistry business, to its management team alongside H2 Equity
Partners. This transaction further reduced the complexity of our site
portfolio and has enabled greater focus of capital, time and other resources.
As described in the CEO review, during the year we broadened the scope of our
non-core divestment portfolio, and are progressing with several processes to
accelerate the Group's deleveraging and simplify the business portfolio
further.
Safety
We achieved another historic low in our recordable injury case rate and remain
in the top quartile for our industry for a third consecutive year. But our
process safety event rate metric remains higher than we would like, despite
improvements in several key sites and a reduction in incidents with the
highest potential consequences. We have targeted plans in place to improve
performance on this metric in 2026.
Our 2025 health and safety performance
Keeping our people and contractors safe is our highest priority, and is
enshrined in our core SHE value, which states that 'we always have time to
work safely'. This mantra is especially important in challenging times, and it
is testament to our people's continued commitment that our recordable injury
case rate (RCR) of 0.15 outperformed our annual objective for the third
consecutive year. However, this year's process safety event rate (PSER) of
0.25 was higher than our 2025 objective. Both metrics were influenced by a
series of low-consequence incidents at just two sites - Le Havre in France and
Mogadore, Ohio, USA. We launched a new SHE Week initiative to address common
issues, which included all our sites running refresher sessions on 'back to
basics' themes as well as lessons learnt from our RCR and PSER cases.
An improving long-term picture
Safety incident hotspots are unusual for us but are essential reminders of why
we must remain vigilant. Importantly, our longer-term SHE trends continue to
demonstrate that the longer sites are part of Synthomer and our SHE Management
System (SHEMS), the better their performance.
For example, our most hazardous incidents, involving flammable and toxic
chemicals, have fallen year-on-year, particularly at our newest sites. Our
multi-year 'bowtie' barrier check initiative has helped with this, and we have
now completed around 40% of all checks. This year we developed a new digital
tool to help record those checks more efficiently. We trialled the app at
several sites in 2025 and have since made some improvements based on user
feedback.
We always look for opportunities to improve our performance, using data to
help identify focus areas. This year, for example, we focused on contractor
safety, following a series of incidents in 2024, and now include contractor
engagement - onboarding, task preparation and planning as well as on site
performance monitoring - within our audit programme.
We continue to focus on 'leading' indicators, such as monitoring the standard
of our permit to work process, alongside near-miss and weak-signal reporting.
We have expanded our SHE competency programme to include operational
supervisors and continued our process safety training for operators. With
almost three-quarters of operators now trained, we have begun building a
refresher programme. Meanwhile, our annual SHE Principles and Golden Rules
refresher training is now mandatory for all employees.
This year we replaced our face-to-face SHE conferences with global calls and
our new global SHE Week to reduce non-essential cost. This enabled teams at
every site to participate in a mix of mandatory and local activities. We had a
tremendous response, with more than 90% of operational employees taking part,
with an average attendance of more than eight hours per person.
Priorities for 2026
We are determined to improve our short-term PSER rate and plan to review the
way we control chemicals that do not represent a major accident hazard but
still cause lower-consequence reportable incidents. We also plan to work with
operational teams to strengthen the way sites are brought back online after
maintenance and will continue to ensure we have the appropriate levels of
training across our teams. We are also aiming to roll out our bowtie barrier
check app to more sites in 2026.
2025 2024 Change
Full year ended 31 December
RCR per 100,000 hours for employees and contractors Absolute
CCS 0.23 0.25 (0.02)
AS - - -
HPPM 0.10 0.09 +0.01
Continuing Group 0.15 0.14 +0.01
PSER per 100,000 hours for employees and contractors Absolute
CCS 0.41 0.15 +0.26
AS 0.24 0.69 -0.45
HPPM 0.06 0.09 -0.03
Continuing Group 0.25 0.21 +0.04
Consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
Underlying performance Special items Underlying performance Special items
£m £m IFRS £m £m IFRS
£m £m
Continuing operations Revenue 1,739.2 - 1,739.2 1,933.1 - 1,933.1
Company and subsidiaries operating profit before Special Items 36.2 - 36.2 46.5 - 46.5
Amortisation of acquired intangibles - (44.4) (44.4) - (45.1) (45.1)
Restructuring and site closure costs - (14.0) (14.0) - (15.1) (15.1)
Acquisition costs and related gains - 0.1 0.1 - (0.6) (0.6)
Sale of business - (2.7) (2.7) - (3.1) (3.1)
Software as a Service implementation costs - (1.1) (1.1) - - -
Impairment charge - (22.5) (22.5) - (5.7) (5.7)
Pension past service cost - (3.2) (3.2) - (4.4) (4.4)
Company and subsidiaries operating profit/(loss) 36.2 (87.8) (51.6) 46.5 (74.0) (27.5)
Share of joint ventures 1.4 - 1.4 1.6 (0.3) 1.3
Operating profit/(loss) 37.6 (87.8) (50.2) 48.1 (74.3) (26.2)
Interest payable (63.8) - (63.8) (68.0) - (68.0)
Interest receivable 4.7 - 4.7 12.1 - 12.1
Loss on extinguishment of financing facilities - - - - (1.4) (1.4)
Net interest expense on defined benefit obligations (1.4) - (1.4) (1.7) - (1.7)
Interest element of lease payments (3.4) - (3.4) (2.4) - (2.4)
Finance costs (63.9) - (63.9) (60.0) (1.4) (61.4)
Loss before taxation (26.3) (87.8) (114.1) (11.9) (75.7) (87.6)
Taxation (37.7) 1.7 (36.0) 4.0 14.6 18.6
Loss for the year from continuing operations (64.0) (86.1) (150.1) (7.9) (61.1) (69.0)
(Loss)/profit for the year from discontinuing operations attributable to 3.1 (9.9) (6.8) 4.1 (4.4) (0.3)
equity holders of the parent
Loss for the year (60.9) (96.0) (156.9) (3.8) (65.5) (69.3)
Profit/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interests (0.1) 0.2 0.1 0.3 3.0 3.3
Loss attributable to equity holders of the parent (60.8) (96.2) (157.0) (4.1) (68.5) (72.6)
(60.9) (96.0) (156.9) (3.8) (65.5) (69.3)
Earnings per share
- Basic from continuing operations (39.1)p (52.8)p (91.9)p (5.1)p (39.2)p (44.3)p
- Diluted from continuing operations (39.1)p (52.8)p (91.9)p (5.1)p (39.2)p (44.3)p
- Basic (37.2)p (58.8)p (96.0)p (2.5)p (41.9)p (44.4)p
- Diluted (37.2)p (58.8)p (96.0)p (2.5)p (41.9)p (44.4)p
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
Equity holders of the parent Non-controlling Equity holders Non-controlling
£m interests Total of the parent interests Total
£m £m £m £m £m
(Loss)/profit for the year (157.0) 0.1 (156.9) (72.6) 3.3 (69.3)
Actuarial (Losses)/gains 13.6 - 13.6 (2.1) - (2.1)
Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income (4.1) - (4.1) 0.1 - 0.1
Total items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss 9.5 - 9.5 (2.0) - (2.0)
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (31.9) 0.3 (31.6) 3.8 (0.8) 3.0
Exchange differences recycled on sale of business - - - 4.4 - 4.4
Fair value loss on hedged interest derivatives (2.2) - (2.2) (3.3) - (3.3)
Gains on net investment hedges taken to equity (12.5) - (12.5) 11.9 - 11.9
Total items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss (46.6) 0.3 (46.3) 16.8 (0.8) 16.0
Total other comprehensive (expense)/income for the year (37.1) 0.3 (36.8) 14.8 (0.8) 14.0
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the year (194.1) 0.4 (193.7) (57.8) 2.5 (55.3)
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 December 2025
Share capital Share premium Capital redemption Hedging & translation reserve Retained earnings Total equity holdings of the parent Non- controlling interests Total equity
£m £m reserve £m £m £m £m £m
£m
At 1 January 2025 1.6 925.9 0.9 27.2 136.7 1,092.3 15.4 1,107.7
(Loss)/profit for the year - - - - (157.0) (157.0) 0.1 (156.9)
Other comprehensive income for the year - - - (46.6) 9.5 (37.1) 0.3 (36.8)
Total comprehensive income for the year - - - (46.6) (147.5) (194.1) 0.4 (193.7)
Dividends - - - - - - (2.1) (2.1)
Share-based payments - - - - 2.6 2.6 - 2.6
At 31 December 2025 1.6 925.9 0.9 (19.4) (8.2) 900.8 13.7 914.5
Capital Hedging & translation reserve Total equity holdings of the parent Non- controlling interests
Share Share premium redemption £m Retained earnings £m £m Total equity
capital £m reserve £m £m
£m £m
At 1 January 2024 1.6 925.9 0.9 10.4 209.8 1,148.6 13.4 1,162.0
(Loss)/profit for the year - - - - (72.6) (72.6) 3.3 (69.3)
Other comprehensive (expense)/income for the year - - - 16.8 (2.0) 14.8 (0.8) 14.0
Total comprehensive (expense) for the year - - - 16.8 (74.6) (57.8) 2.5 (55.3)
Dividends - - - - - - (0.5) (0.5)
Share-based payments - - - - 1.5 1.5 - 1.5
At 31 December 2024 1.6 925.9 0.9 27.2 136.7 1,092.3 15.4 1,107.7
Consolidated balance sheet
as at 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£m £m
Non-current assets
Goodwill 443.0 455.1
Acquired intangible assets 347.2 407.1
Other intangible assets 69.6 70.6
Property, plant and equipment 656.5 688.5
Deferred tax assets 25.4 55.7
Defined benefit asset 40.3 26.0
Investment in joint ventures 8.7 8.1
Total non-current assets 1,590.7 1,711.1
Current assets
Inventories 336.9 348.2
Trade and other receivables 153.8 227.2
Current tax assets 2.6 15.6
Cash and cash equivalents 189.9 225.8
Derivative financial instruments 1.2 2.8
Assets classified as held for sale 5.4 6.5
Total current assets 689.8 826.1
Total assets 2,280.5 2,537.2
Current liabilities
Borrowings - (124.2)
Trade and other payables (397.7) (391.6)
Lease liabilities (18.8) (12.3)
Current tax liabilities (15.3) (17.6)
Provisions for other liabilities and charges (3.3) (7.8)
Derivative financial instruments (3.0) (1.6)
Total current liabilities (438.1) (555.1)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings (764.9) (698.6)
Trade and other payables (0.2) (0.1)
Lease liabilities (34.8) (43.6)
Deferred tax liabilities (30.0) (28.9)
Retirement benefit obligations (79.9) (75.7)
Provisions for other liabilities and charges (18.1) (27.5)
Total non-current liabilities (927.9) (874.4)
Total liabilities (1,366.0) (1,429.5)
Net assets 914.5 1,107.7
Equity
Share capital 1.6 1.6
Share premium 925.9 925.9
Capital redemption reserve 0.9 0.9
Hedging and translation reserve (19.4) 27.2
Retained earnings (8.2) 136.7
Equity attributable to equity owners of the parent 900.8 1,092.3
Non-controlling interests 13.7 15.4
Total equity 914.5 1,107.7
Consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 December 2025
2025 2024
£m £m £m £m
Operating
Cash generated from operations 184.4 39.2
- Interest received 4.7 12.1
- Interest paid (62.3) (64.3)
- Interest element of lease payments (3.0) (2.4)
Net interest paid (60.6) (54.6)
- UK corporation tax received 0.5 0.7
- Overseas corporate tax paid - (18.8)
Total tax received/(paid) 0.5 (18.1)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities 124.3 (33.5)
Investing
Dividends received from joint ventures - 1.0
Purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (87.7) (90.6)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 1.4 7.4
Proceeds from sale of business 21.3 20.5
Net cash outflow from investing activities (65.0) (61.7)
Financing
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests (2.1) (0.5)
Proceeds on issue of shares - (4.7)
Settlement of equity-settled share-based payments - (0.2)
Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities (12.4) (12.1)
Repayment of borrowings (180.5) (327.9)
Proceeds of borrowings 98.2 299.5
Net cash outflow from financing activities (96.8) (45.9)
Decrease in cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts during the period (37.5) (141.1)
Cash and cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at 1 January 225.5 370.6
Foreign exchange (loss)/gain 1.9 (4.0)
Cash, cash equivalents and bank overdrafts at 31 December 189.9 225.5
See note 8 for further details of cash flows from discontinued operations.
1. Special items
IFRS and Underlying performance
The IFRS profit measures show the performance of the Group as a whole and as
such include all sources of income and expense, including both one-off items
and those that do not relate to the Group's ongoing businesses. To provide
additional clarity on the ongoing trading performance of the Group's
businesses, management uses 'Underlying' performance as an Alternative
Performance Measure to plan for, control and assess the performance of the
segments. Underlying performance differs from the IFRS measures as it excludes
Special Items.
Special Items
Special Items are disclosed separately in order to provide a clearer
indication of the Group's Underlying performance.
Special Items are either irregular - and therefore including them in the
assessment of a segment's performance would lead to a distortion of trends -
or are technical adjustments which ensure the Group's financial statements are
in compliance with IFRS but do not reflect the operating performance of a
segment in the year, or both. An example of the latter is the amortisation of
acquired intangibles, which principally relates to acquired customer
relationships. The Group incurs costs, which are recognised as an expense in
the income statement, in maintaining these customer relationships. The Group
considers that the exclusion of the amortisation charge on acquired
intangibles from Underlying performance avoids the potential double counting
of such costs and therefore excludes it as a Special Item from Underlying
performance.
The following are consistently disclosed separately as Special Items in order
to provide a clearer indication of the Group's Underlying performance:
· Restructuring and site closure costs
· Sale of business or significant asset
· Acquisition costs
· Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
· Impairment of non-current assets
· Fair value adjustments in respect of derivative financial
instruments where hedge accounting is not applied
· Items of income and expense that are considered material, either
by their size and/or nature
· Tax impact of above items
· Settlement of prior period tax issues
· Customisation, configuration and set up costs of significant
Software as a Service ("SaaS") arrangements.
Special Items comprise:
2025 2024
£m
£m
Amortisation of acquired intangibles (44.4) (45.1)
Restructuring and site closure costs (including share of JV) (14.0) (15.4)
Impairment charge (22.5) (5.7)
Acquisition costs and related gains 0.1 (0.6)
Sale of business (2.7) (3.1)
Software as a Service implementation costs (1.1) -
Pension past service cost (3.2) (4.4)
Total impact on operating profit (87.8) (74.3)
Finance costs
Loss on extinguishment of financing facilities - (1.4)
Total impact on loss before taxation (87.8) (75.7)
Taxation Special items - 7.5
Taxation on Special items 1.7 7.1
Total impact on loss for the year - continuing operations (86.1) (61.1)
Discontinued Operations
Restructuring and site closure costs (0.3) (1.1)
Sale of business (8.9) (3.3)
Taxation on Special Items (0.7) -
Total impact on profit for the year - discontinued operations (9.9) (4.4)
Total impact on loss for the year (96.0) (65.5)
Amortisation of acquired intangibles is the amortisation on the customer
lists, patents, trademarks and trade secrets arising on past acquisitions. The
fair value of the intangible assets arising on past acquisitions are being
amortised over periods of 5-20 years mainly dependent on the characteristics
of the customer relationships.
1. Special items (continued)
Within continuing operations, Restructuring and site closure costs in 2025
comprised:
· A £1.2m charge in relation to the ongoing integration of the
acquired Adhesive Resins business into the Adhesive Solutions division
· £0.8m of costs in relation to the closure of the Ningbo
antioxidants plant
· £6.7m of costs in relation to global rationalisation and
restructuring activities
· £3.5m in relation to a procurement excellence transformation
project
· £1.1m loss incurred in relation to an onerous contract following
the earlier divestment of the European tirecord business
Restructuring and site closure costs in 2024 included charges to integrate the
Adhesive Resins business, site rationalisation costs in the USA, Malaysia and
Europe, and costs in relation to operational site reviews to align with our
strategic initiatives.
Impairment includes an impairment charge of £28.5m in relation to non-current
assets in our Acrylate Monomers business, offset by an impairment reversal of
£6.0m relating to the reversal of a previous impairment of fixed assets at
our Kluang plant.
Acquisition costs and related gains are for the acquisition of Eastman's
Adhesive Resins business and comprise items related to obligations to the US
pension schemes. Acquisition costs in 2024 also related to the acquisition of
Eastman's Adhesive Resins business.
Sale of business costs in discontinued operations relate to the loss on
disposal of £8.9m realised with the sale of the William Blythe business to
Hamsard 3806 Bidco Limited. Sale of business costs in continuing operations
relates to costs incurred in relation to future divestments.
Sale of business costs in prior year continued operations related to disposal
proceeds net of costs incurred following the sale of the compounds business to
Matco Latex Services BV along with costs from other divestments.
Other costs include a £3.2m charge in relation to a one-off non-cash past
service cost arising from a correction to the calculation of late retirement
benefits in the US defined benefit pension scheme.
Software as a service implementation costs of £1.1m primarily represents the
cost of setting up a new customer relationship management tool.
Taxation Special Items in 2024 related to the release of a Malaysian tax
provision relating to uncertain tax treatments which was concluded in the
year.
2. Segmental analysis
The Group's Executive Committee, chaired by the Chief Executive Officer,
examines the Group's performance. The Group's Executive Committee is the chief
operating decision maker and primarily uses a measure of earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to assess the
performance of the operating segments. No information is provided to the
Group's Executive Committee at the segment level concerning interest income,
interest expense, income tax or other material non-cash items.
The Group's reportable segments are as follows:
Coatings & Construction Solutions
Our specialist polymers enhance the sustainable performance of a wide range of
coatings and construction products. We work across architectural and masonry
coatings, mortar modification, waterproofing and flooring, fibre bonding, and
energy solutions.
Adhesive Solutions
Our adhesive solutions bond, modify and compatibilise surfaces and components
for products including tapes and labels, packaging, hygiene, tyres and plastic
modification, helping improve permeability, strength, elasticity, damping,
dispersion and grip.
Health & Protection and Performance Materials
We help enhance protection and performance in a wide range of industries
including medical glove manufacture, speciality paper, food packaging, carpet
and artificial turf, gel foam elastomers, and vinyl-coated seating fabrics.
No single customer accounts for more than 10% of the Group's revenue.
A segmental analysis of Underlying performance and Special Items is shown
below.
Continuing Discontinued Operations Total
Operations
Group
Health & Protection Health & Protection
and Performance Materials and Performance Materials
Coatings & Construction Solutions £m £m
2025 £m Adhesive Solutions
£m Corporate Total Total
£m £m £m
Revenue
Total revenue 699.2 570.8 472.7 - 1,742.7 28.9 1,771.6
Inter-segmental revenue - - (3.5) - (3.5) - (3.5)
699.2 570.8 469.2 - 1,739.2 28.9 1,768.1
EBITDA 64.3 66.0 24.2 (18.0) 136.5 3.6 140.1
Depreciation and amortisation (25.9) (34.8) (26.3) (11.9) (98.9) (0.5) (99.4)
Operating profit/(loss) before Special Items 38.4 31.2 (2.1) (29.9) 37.6 3.1 40.7
Special Items (31.6) (20.4) (30.9) (4.9) (87.8) (9.2) (97.0)
Operating profit/(loss) 6.8 10.8 (33.0) (34.8) (50.2) (6.1) (56.3)
Finance costs (63.9)
Loss before taxation (120.2)
Continuing Discontinued Operations Total
Operations
Group
Health & Protection Health & Protection
and Performance Materials and Performance Materials
Coatings & Construction Solutions £m £m
2024 £m Adhesive Solutions
£m Corporate Total Total
£m £m £m
Revenue
Total revenue 790.5 588.4 557.7 - 1,936.6 63.5 2,000.1
Inter-segmental revenue - - (3.5) - (3.5) - (3.5)
790.5 588.4 554.2 - 1,933.1 63.5 1,996.6
EBITDA 85.9 47.9 33.0 (23.7) 143.1 6.1 149.2
Depreciation and amortisation (25.3) (32.9) (26.9) (9.9) (95.0) (1.4) (96.4)
Operating profit/(loss) before Special Items 60.6 15.0 6.1 (33.6) 48.1 4.7 52.8
Special Items (28.1) (24.5) (17.7) (4.0) (74.3) (4.4) (78.7)
Operating profit/(loss) 32.5 (9.5) (11.6) (37.6) (26.2) 0.3 (25.9)
Finance costs (61.4)
Loss before taxation (87.3)
3. Reconciliation of operating loss to cash generated from operations
2025 2024
£m £m
Operating loss (56.3) (25.9)
Less: share of profits of joint ventures (1.4) (1.6)
(57.7) (27.5)
Adjustments for:
- Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 74.6 73.2
- Depreciation of right of use assets 11.4 11.1
- Amortisation of other intangibles 13.4 12.1
- Share-based payments 2.6 1.6
- Gain on sale of underlying assets (1.9) (4.3)
- Release of provision (3.9)
- Special Items 97.0 78.7
Cash impact of settlement of interest rate derivative contracts 0.6 -
Cash impact of restructuring and site closure costs (17.7) (20.2)
Cash impact SaaS implementation (1.1)
Cash impact of acquisition costs and related gains (0.4) (1.7)
Pension funding in excess of service cost (5.3) (19.8)
Movement in working capital 72.8 (24.9)
Payment of EC settlement amount - (39.1)
Cash generated from operations 184.4 39.2
Reconciliation of movement in working capital
Increase in inventories (3.9) (15.5)
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables 74.0 (23.4)
Decrease in trade and other payables 2.7 14.0
Movement in working capital 72.8 (24.9)
4. Dividends
In 2022, the Board announced the suspension of dividends. The Board has
confirmed that dividends will remain suspended until the Group's net debt is
less than 2.5x its EBITDA.
5. Earnings per share
2025 2024
Underlying performance Special Items Underlying performance Special
IFRS Items IFRS
Earnings
(Loss)/profit attributable to equity holders of the parent - continuing £m (63.9) (86.3) (150.2) (8.2) (64.1) (72.3)
operations
(Loss)/profit attributable to equity holders of the parent £m (60.8) (96.2) (157.0) (4.1) (68.5) (72.6)
Number of shares
Weighted average number of ordinary shares - basic '000 163,500 163,473
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares '000 5,266 1,078
Weighted average number of ordinary shares - diluted '000 168,766 164,551
Earnings per share for (loss)/profit from continuing operations
Basic earnings per share pence (39.1) (52.8) (91.9) (5.1) (39.2) (44.3)
Diluted earnings per share pence (39.1) (52.8) (91.9) (5.1) (39.2) (44.3)
Earnings per share for (loss)/profit from discontinued operations
Basic earnings per share pence 1.9 (6.0) (4.1) 2.6 (2.7) (0.1)
Diluted earnings per share pence 1.9 (6.0) (4.1) 2.6 (2.7) (0.1)
Earnings per share for (loss)/profit attributable to equity holders
of the parent
Basic earnings per share pence (37.2) (58.8) (96.0) (2.5) (41.9) (44.4)
Diluted earnings per share pence (37.2) (58.8) (96.0) (2.5) (41.9) (44.4)
6. Finance costs
2025 2024
£m £m
Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts 63.8 68.0
Less: interest receivable (4.7) (12.1)
Net interest expense on defined benefit obligations 1.4 1.7
Interest element of lease payments 3.4 2.4
Underlying finance costs 63.9 60.0
Loss on extinguishment of financing facilities - 1.4
Total finance costs from continuing operations 63.9 61.4
Total finance costs 63.9 61.4
7. Analysis of net debt
1 January Exchange and other movements 31 December
2025 Cash flows £m 2025
£m £m £m
Bank overdrafts (0.3) - 0.3 -
€520m 3.875% senior unsecured loan notes due 2025 (123.9) 128.8 (4.9) -
Current bank borrowings - - - -
Current Liabilities (124.2) 128.8 (4.6) -
Bank loans (414.2) (46.5) (3.1) (463.8)
€350m 7.375% senior unsecured loan notes due 2029 (284.4) - (16.7) (301.1)
Non-current liabilities (698.6) (46.5) (19.8) (764.9)
Total borrowings (822.8) 82.3 (24.4) (764.9)
Cash and cash equivalents 225.8 (37.5) 1.6 189.9
Net debt (597.0) 44.8 (22.8) (575.0)
Capitalised debt costs which have been recognised as a reduction in borrowings
in the financial statements, amounted to £9.5m at 31 December 2025 (31
December 2024: £12.8m).
8. Discontinued operations
On 30 May 2025, the Group sold William Blythe Limited to Hamsard 3806 Bidco
Limited for net cash proceeds of £24.2m.
The Group also incurred a small amount of costs in relation to other
divestments and business closures from the prior year.
All discontinued operations form part of the Health & Protection and
Performance Materials division.
Financial information in respect of the discontinued operation is set out
below:
Financial performance and cash flow information
2025 2024
Laminates Films and Coated Fabrics Compounds Laminates Films and Coated Fabrics
£m NA Paper £m £m NA Paper
and Carpet
and Carpet
Total
Total
£m
£m
William Blythe Compounds £m William Blythe £m
£m £m £m
Revenue 28.9 - - - 28.9 53.7 9.8 - - 63.5
Expenses (25.3) - - - (25.3) (50.2) (7.2) - - (57.4)
EBITDA 3.6 - - - 3.6 3.5 2.6 - - 6.1
Depreciation and amortisation - Underlying performance (0.5) - - - (0.5) (1.2) (0.2) - - (1.4)
Operating profit - Underlying performance 3.1 - - - 3.1 2.3 2.4 - - 4.7
Special Items (8.9) - - (0.3) (9.2) (0.2) (3.3) 0.2 (1.1) (4.4)
Operating profit/(loss) - IFRS (5.8) - - (0.3) (6.1) 2.1 (0.9) 0.2 (1.1) 0.3
Finance costs - - - - - - - - - -
Profit/(loss) before taxation (5.8) - - (0.3) (6.1) 2.1 (0.9) 0.2 (1.1) 0.3
Taxation (0.7) - - - (0.7) 0.2 (0.8) - - (0.6)
Profit/(loss) for the year (6.5) - - (0.3) (6.8) 2.3 (1.7) 0.2 (1.1) (0.3)
Cash flows from discontinued operations
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 0.8 - - (0.3) (0.5) 0.7 (3.6) - (1.1) (4.0)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities 24.2 (0.1) - - 24.1 (0.7) 17.5 (0.1) - 16.7
The prior-year figures of the consolidated income statement and the
consolidated statement of cashflows have been restated in accordance with IFRS
5 to report the discontinued operations separately from continuing operations.
8. Discontinued operations (continued)
Assets and liabilities classified as held-for-sale
At 31 December 2025, the assets held for sale related to the corporate office
at Beachwood.
At 31 December 2024, the Fitchburg site is classified as held for sale as well
as a number of reactors and strippers. These assets are detailed below:
2025 2024
£m £m
Non-current assets
Goodwill - -
Acquired intangible assets - -
Other intangible assets - -
Property, plant and equipment 5.4 6.5
Deferred tax assets - -
Total non-current assets 5.4 6.5
Current assets
Inventories - -
Trade and other receivables - -
Total current assets - -
Total assets 5.4 6.5
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables - -
Lease liabilities - -
Current tax liabilities - -
Total current liabilities - -
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities - -
Deferred tax liabilities - -
Retirement benefit obligations - -
Total non-current liabilities - -
Total liabilities - -
Net assets held for sale 5.4 6.5
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Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reservedRecent news on Synthomer
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