Croda International PLC (LSE:CRDA) shares rose 3% to 3,013p after the speciality chemicals group reported faster second-quarter growth and maintained its full-year outlook.
Sales in the first-half increased 2.9% to £880.5 million, representing organic growth of 4.6%. Adjusted operating profit rose 6.1% to £155.8 million and statutory pre-tax profit jumped 25.6% to £107.4 million.
Organic sales accelerated to 9% in the second quarter, with Croda reporting limited disruption from the Middle East conflict.
Free cash flow increased 36.8% to £38.3 million and Croda held its interim dividend at 48p as it works to rebuild earnings cover.
Consumer Care led the sales performance with 8% organic growth, including a 19% increase at beauty active ingredients. Home care grew 9% and fragrances & flavours advanced 8%.
Life sciences sales were flat, with pharma up 1% and crop care down 2%. Pharma ingredients grew 7%, but solutions declined 17% because of project timing, with revenue expected to improve in the second half.
Chief executive Steve Foots said profits were growing ahead of sales, reflecting stronger demand for innovation and transformation savings.
Croda continues to expect full-year organic sales growth of 3% to 6% and a further improvement in its adjusted operating margin.
Analysts at Jefferies said Croda's second-quarter constant-currency growth of 8.8% beat the City consensus by 1.6 percentage points, driven by a much stronger-than-expected Consumer Care performance. First-half adjusted pre-tax profit was 3% ahead of consensus too.
