Croda International PLC (LON:CRDA) said it intends to pay its final dividend as it has seen “solid” demand during the coronavirus (COVI-19) pandemic, with the specialty chemicals group's customer order book the same as usual.
In a COVI-19 update, the FTSE 100-listed firm said it will pay the final dividend of 50.5p per share, spending a total of £65mln, subject to approval by shareholders at today's Annual General Meeting.
READ: Croda upgraded to ‘buy’ by Liberum, “defensive” model cited
However, Croda said there is uncertainty on how the crisis will affect future sales.
In the quarter ended March 31, Croda said its sales and profits were in line with last year, as forecast, due to strong results in 2019.
As of March 31, the group had committed funding of £1bn, with undrawn facilities of £457mln and £91mln in cash. It completed a debt refinancing last year and said there are no maturities before 2023.
Analysts at Peel Hunt pulled the recommendation back to 'hold' from 'add' due to limited visibility, maintaining the target price at 4,200p.
Shares were flat at 4,744p on Thursday at the opening bell.
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