Victrex PLC (LSE:VCT) joined the growing list of companies warning about the impact of China’s problems affecting trading at the start of 2024.
In a trading update, the high-spec plastics groups said revenues dropped by 22% in the three months to end December, the group’s first quarter.
Volumes were down 21%, it added, with prices holding up in most areas bar medical which has been affected by destocking and adverse currency movements.
January has been a bit better, Victrex said, but visibility is limited.
Jakob Sigurdsson, chief executive, said first-half revenue and profit before tax are now expected to be lower than the prior year period with any uptick in the second half dependent on general macro conditions.
“A continuation of the current macro-economic conditions makes achieving a profit growth outcome for the year more challenging and requires a further step up in run rates for the remainder of FY 2024,” he added
Shares were down 2% at 1,310p in early trades.