REG - Synthomer PLC - Trading Statement - Winter 2026

SynthomerAnnouncement

Today 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260129:nRSc8098Qa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8098Q  Synthomer PLC  29 January 2026

Synthomer plc

Winter trading statement

Positive cash flow and robust earnings in subdued end markets

Synthomer plc ('Synthomer' or the 'Group') today issues a scheduled update on
trading for the twelve months to 31 December 2025. We expect to report 2025
revenue of c.£1.74bn (2024: £1.93bn) and EBITDA in the range of £135-138m
for the continuing Group (2024: £143.1m), in line with market expectations.
The continued focus on strong operational execution, together with expanded
'self-help' cost reduction programmes, have enabled us to mitigate the impact
of softer end-market demand since global tariff changes were announced at the
start of Q2 and deliver resilient earnings and an increased EBITDA margin.

 

The Group delivered positive Free Cash Flow for the year, with a cash inflow
in the second half as expected. Year-end net debt is expected to be c.£575m
(H1 2025: £638.3m, FY 2024: £597.0m) reflecting rigorous focus on profit and
cash management, partially supported by the recently-announced £50m
receivables arrangement with our largest shareholder, Kuala Lumpur Kepong
Berhad Group. The Group's covenant net debt:EBITDA as at 31 December 2025 was
4.7-4.8x, well within the requirement of less than 5.25x.

 

Despite the lower revenue in the year, the Group achieved a further
improvement in gross and EBITDA margins, principally reflecting the ongoing
strategic re-allocation of capital and other resources towards the higher
margin, more resilient speciality solutions in our portfolio and 'self-help'
cost reductions (mainly in the Coatings & Construction Solutions (CCS)
division and in SG&A functions).

 

Divisionally, Adhesive Solutions (AS) continued to regain share and enhance
margins, supported by our product capacity investment in Texas. End-market
demand across the CCS division was varied throughout the second half, with a
slightly improved trend in Q4 in coatings offset by a slightly weaker period
for construction and consumer sub-segments, while weak demand for energy
solutions continued, reflecting low levels of oil and gas drilling activity.
Health & Protection volumes for the medical glove market from both new and
existing customers began to improve in Q4, although margins in this business
remain substantially below pre-pandemic levels.

 

Alongside robust operational execution, we remain focused on the Group's
strategic transformation. Having divested William Blythe in May 2025, we
continue to progress the Group's broadened divestment pipeline in order to
support deleveraging and simplify the portfolio further.

 

As we look to 2026, we expect to make year-on year progress driven by
self-help actions, even without a significant market recovery. Specifically,
we anticipate that the full year contributions from our cost programmes and
product investments made in AS during 2025, ongoing margin progress in our
speciality businesses and Health & Protection volume improvement will be
partially offset by wage inflation and normalisation of bonus accrual in the
year.

 

Commenting, Synthomer CEO Michael Willome said:

"We are pleased with the positive cash, robust earnings and margin performance
Synthomer has delivered in 2025 given the persistently adverse market backdrop
for the sector. The whole organisation has rigorously prioritised what is
within our control - expanding cost savings, accelerating the portfolio
transformation towards speciality solutions and closely managing resources to
safeguard our financial position in response to the ongoing geopolitical and
tariff-related turbulence which has unbalanced demand and supply in our end
markets. The protracted downturn has accentuated the importance of our
strategy: to focus on improving our operating leverage in those areas of our
portfolio with strong market positions in fundamentally attractive speciality
end markets. As such, while the near-term environment remains challenging, we
remain committed to our ambition to double Synthomer's recent earnings levels
in the medium term, through self-help, end-market volume recovery and
strategic delivery."

 

 

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

All financial information provided in this release is as defined in the
Group's 2024 Annual Report and is preliminary and unaudited. Synthomer plans
to report results for the twelve months to 31 December 2025 in late March
2026.

 

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 £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.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTFLFFALSITFIR



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved