REG - Synthomer PLC - Trading statement - Autumn 2025

SynthomerAnnouncement

23/10/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 4657E  Synthomer PLC  23 October 2025

Synthomer plc

Autumn 2025 trading statement

Resilient performance in soft end-market environment

 

Synthomer plc ('Synthomer' or the 'Group') today issues a scheduled update on
trading for the third quarter of 2025.

 

·    Resilient Q3 2025 performance against a continuing soft market
backdrop, led by Adhesive Solutions

·    Additional self-help actions delivering an increasing benefit through
the second half, mitigating subdued end-market conditions following trade
tensions

·    Expect Continuing EBITDA for 2025 to be similar to 2024

·    Continued focus on strategic transformation and broadened divestment
programme

 

Q3 2025 saw a continuation of soft demand across a number of end markets,
which the Group was largely able to mitigate through our additional self-help
initiatives. The Adhesive Solutions division continued to regain share and
enhance margins, supported by our investment in increased APO capacity for
adhesive applications at our Texas facility, which came onstream in July.
Health & Protection volumes for the medical glove market remained subdued
in the period, although our customers are increasingly confident of benefiting
from their improved competitiveness in the US medical glove market following
tariff changes. End markets in the Coatings & Construction Solutions
division were more varied in the period - improving construction and
relatively stable consumer sub-segments were offset by a slowdown in coatings
demand particularly in the USA and low levels of oil and gas drilling activity
affecting the energy solutions business. As anticipated, our 'in region, for
region' manufacturing strategy means we are experiencing limited direct tariff
impact which we are largely offsetting through surcharges, but we remain
mindful that ongoing uncertainties around the global trade environment
continue to create volatility in end-market demand.

 

As previously described, the Group has responded to the market environment by
identifying additional rationalisation and cost efficiency opportunities. The
new programme announced in August, which includes the removal of around 250
roles globally from the organisation, has now largely been completed and is on
track to deliver c.£20-25m in savings on an annual run-rate basis by 2026.
This programme supplements the previously identified benefits from robust
pricing and the efficiency, reliability improvement and other 'self-help'
actions implemented in 2025.

 

Alongside operational execution, we continue to focus on the strategic
transformation of the Group and on strengthening our balance sheet. Having
divested William Blythe in May, we continue to progress the Group's broadened
divestment pipeline in order to accelerate the Group's deleveraging and
simplify the portfolio further. Focus on cash generation is helping to ensure
that the Group retains ample committed liquidity (after repayment of the stub
2025 bonds on 2 July 2025).

 

With our additional self-help actions largely mitigating the soft end-market
demand conditions that we anticipate will persist for the remainder of 2025,
we expect Continuing Group EBITDA for the year to be similar to the £143m
reported in 2024, and expect a cash inflow in H2 to result in broadly neutral
Free Cash Flow for the year. As we begin to look to 2026, we anticipate
progress in Group earnings and cash generation as a result of full year
contributions from our self-help actions and product investments.

 

Commenting, Synthomer CEO Michael Willome said:

"With ongoing global geopolitical and tariff-related turbulence continuing to
unbalance demand and supply in our end markets, we have sharpened our focus on
what we can control - expanding our cost saving programme, accelerating the
transformation of our business portfolio and allocating resources even more
rigorously to strengthen our financial position. We have clear commercial,
operational and strategic plans in place, which are contributing to greater
resilience and a stronger portfolio mix with considerable operating leverage
to end-market demand recovery. As such, we remain confident in our objective
to double Synthomer's recent earnings levels in the medium term, through our
cost actions and strategy of focusing the business on market-leading
speciality products with sustainable, differentiated benefits for global
end-users."

 

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

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.3,900 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 £2.0bn in continuing revenue in 2024, 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. Classification as per DTR
6 Annex 1R: 3.1.

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