Elementis plc

Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2025

 

Resilient financial performance

Well positioned to deliver attractive returns with Elevate Elementis growth strategy

 

Elementis plc ("Elementis" or the "Group") today announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Resilient financial¹ performance with strong profit and margin delivery

-	Revenue resilient in a challenging demand environment. Strong Adjusted operating profit and margin performance up 4.6%2 and 150 bps to $126.7m and 21.2% respectively
	- Personal Care revenue up 2.4%2 with higher volumes and pricing. Operating margin up strongly at 32.4%
	- Coatings revenue down 4.3%2 with soft demand in all regions offset partially by positive price impacts and       strong performance from the energy business. Operating margin resilient at 18.9%
-	Final proposed dividend of 3.0 cents per share, resulting in a full-year dividend of 4.3 cents per share, up 7.5%
-	Statutory loss for the year of $45.5m includes $110.5m from the loss on sale of the Talc business in H1 2025
-	£40.0m ($53.8m) share buyback successfully completed in 2025
-	Net debt3 at $185.4m as per the January trading update, with net debt to EBITDA4 at 1.3x

Building momentum with Elevate Elementis strategy

-	Transformation of Elementis into pure-play specialty chemicals business following the disposal of the Talc business
-	Elevate Elementis growth strategy launched with new medium-term targets5. Positive progress across all strategic priorities
	- Innovation Revenue up 200 bps to 16.4%1
	- Acquisition of Alchemy for $22m in fast growing natural skincare and cosmetics markets
	- Debottlenecking action at St. Louis, US, leads to a 20% uplift in capacity utilisation since H1 2025
	- $18m cost savings delivered in 2025. On-track to deliver remaining $4m in 2026, part of the $10m additional cost savings announced in H1 2025
-	Elementis announces today that it has reached an agreement to sell its pharmaceutical manufacturing business, which makes antacids and excipients, to Associated British Foods ("ABF"). Completion expected Q2 2026, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals
-	Strong progress in all areas of sustainability with zero lost time accidents in 2025

Full year outlook

-	Whilst we remain mindful of the soft demand environment for coatings and recent geopolitical uncertainty, we are confident in another year of progress and have made a solid start to the new year

Financial¹ summary

	Statutory results (IFRS)			Adjusted results
	2025	2024	Change	2025	2024	Change	Change  constant currency
Revenue ($m)	597.5	603.8	(1.0%)	597.5	603.8	(1.0%)	(1.9%)
Personal Care revenue ($m)	224.5	217.4	3.3%	224.5	217.4	3.3%	2.4%
Coatings revenue ($m)	373.0	386.4	(3.5%)	373.0	386.4	(3.5%)	(4.3%)
Operating profit ($m)	109.0	96.0	13.5%	126.7	119.2	6.3%	4.6%
Personal Care operating profit ($m)	63.4	49.3	28.6%	72.8	61.6	18.2%	16.9%
Coatings operating profit ($m)	64.7	73.5	(12.0%)	70.4	78.4	(10.2%)	(11.6%)
Operating profit margin (%)	18.2%	15.9%	230 bps	21.2%	19.7%	150 bps
Profit before tax ("PBT") ($m)	89.9	74.3	21.0%	107.5	96.7	11.2%
Diluted earnings per share (c)	10.5	8.1	29.6%	13.7	12.0	14.2%
Net debt3 ($m)				185	157	17.8%
Net debt3 to EBITDA4				1.3	1.1	18.2%
Ordinary dividend per share (c)	4.3	4.0	7.5%	4.3	4.0	7.5%

Commenting on the results, Luc van Ravenstein, CEO, said:

"I am pleased we have delivered a resilient performance with strong growth in profitability and margins despite the challenging market environment.

"We have made good progress in the first six months of our Elevate Elementis strategy, leveraging our winning differentiators, acquiring Alchemy, a complementary fast-growing personal care specialist, and investing in innovation to accelerate growth. Our proven track record of delivering cost savings is creating a simpler, leaner Elementis while we continue to strengthen our direct customer relationships.

"We are pleased to have reached another important milestone for Elementis with the agreement to sell our pharmaceutical manufacturing business. The transaction sharpens our focus on our core markets, will reduce the Group's capital intensity and will enhance our operating margins. Following closing, we expect to return the net cash proceeds to shareholders.

"As a focused premium specialty chemicals business with a clear strategy and good operational momentum, we are well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities in large, attractive Personal Care, Coatings and new adjacent markets to create long-term value for our shareholders." 

Further information

A presentation for investors and analysts will be held at 09.00 am GMT on 5 March 2026 via a live webcast, and can be accessed via a link: https://www.investis-live.com/elementis/696e0d900064e60016386918/wlrg

Conference call dial in details:
UK: +44 (0) 20 3936 2999           Other: Global Dial-In Numbers    Participant access code: 783195 

Enquiries

Investors:	Zeeshan Maqbool, Elementis plc	Tel: +44 (0) 7553 340 380
Press:	Martin Robinson/Giles Kernick, Teneo	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7353 4200

Notes:

1 Unless otherwise stated, financial results are presented on a continuing operations basis and adjusted basis. Adjusted figures exclude the adjusting items set out in Note 5.

2 Constant currency basis.

3 Pre IFRS 16 basis; refer to alternative performance measures on page 31 for further information.

4 Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation; refer to alternative performance measures on page 29 for further information.

5 Medium-term targets (i) Mid-single digit revenue growth through the cycle, (ii) Adjusted operating profit margin 23%+, (iii) Three-year operating cash conversion >90%, (iv) Return on capital employed (excluding goodwill) >30%.

 

Chief Executive Officer's review

Elevating Elementis

I am delighted to present my first full set of results for Elementis. It is a privilege to lead such a fantastic company and the talented colleagues who make it so special. This has been a transformational year at Elementis, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together.

Having spent 14 years with Elementis leading both our Personal Care and Coatings segments, I know the business, our customers and our colleagues intimately. When I stepped into the role in April, I had a clear vision for where we can take this business. My first priority was completing the sale of Talc - a milestone we reached in May. This successful transaction delivered a clean exit, returned value to our shareholders, and repositioned Elementis as a pure-play specialty chemicals company. It also accelerated the delivery of our 2026 financial targets, set out at our 2023 Capital Markets Day, by a full year - an outstanding achievement.

With this foundation in place, I was pleased to launch our new Elevate Elementis strategy and medium-term targets in July 2025. Our three priorities - accelerating sustainable growth, being first choice for customers, and becoming a simpler, leaner Elementis - are firmly embedded across the business and we have already made encouraging progress across all three areas, but there is much more to do. I am truly excited about the journey ahead and look forward to keeping you updated as we elevate Elementis to the next level.

Navigating a challenging operating environment

2025 was another challenging year for global economies, with persistent geopolitical uncertainty, US tariff volatility, higher inflation and trade fragmentation all impacting consumer and business sentiment.

Within the wider European Chemicals sector, 2025 was another difficult year and we continued to see the diversified companies under pressure from Chinese oversupply and a sluggish global demand environment. The truly specialty chemicals businesses performed better though, delivering a positive performance overall.

Results in line with expectations

Overall Group revenue was slightly down at $597.5m, compared to $603.8m in the prior year. We achieved strong growth in adjusted operating profit and margin of $126.7m (2024: $119.2m) and 21.2% (2024: 19.7%) respectively. This, in combination with lower net finance costs in the year, meant we were able to generate adjusted profit before tax ("PBT") of $107.5m, up 11.2% from last year, and our adjusted earnings per share ("EPS") was up 1.7 cents to 13.7 cents (2024: 12.0 cents). This is an outstanding performance in the context of the challenging operating environment I outlined earlier, and a testament to the premium specialty nature of our business.

After adjusting for the loss on the sale of the Talc business of $110.5m in H1 2025, the statutory loss for the year was $45.5m.

In relation to our divisional performance, Personal Care represents 37.6% of Group revenues and 50.8% of Group adjusted operating profit. Revenues increased 3.3% to $224.5m (2024: $217.4m), with higher volumes and pricing helping to offset negative mix impacts in the year. Revenue was higher across all regions despite the impact of tariffs, driven by our positive pricing and proactive supply chain management actions, which enabled us to manage our raw materials cost exposure, while keeping production levels optimised. These, in combination with our self-help actions and cost savings, including the closure of the Middletown AP Actives plant last year, helped us to deliver higher adjusted operating profit and margin of $72.8m (2024: $61.6m) and 32.4% (2024: 28.3%) respectively.

In Coatings, which represents 62.4% of Group revenue and 49.2% of Group adjusted operating profit, revenues fell by 3.5% to $373.0m (2024: $386.4m). The decline, which was in line with management's expectations and the weak global demand environment for Coatings, resulted in lower volumes across all regions. Offsetting these, we were pleased to have realised positive pricing across all regions, and our Energy business continued to perform strongly despite the low oil price environment. As a result of the lower revenues, adjusted operating profits were lower at $70.4m (2024: $78.4m) and margins were resilient at 18.9% (2024: 20.3%) respectively.

Elevating Elementis

A key step in the transformation of the Company was the sale of the Talc business, which we completed in May. In July we launched our new growth strategy, Elevate Elementis, designed to build on our strong foundations and take the business to the next level.

We have identified three clear priorities for the medium term. These will propel our performance, drive higher growth and generate material free cash flow that will create optionality for reinvestment and additional shareholder returns.

Accelerate sustainable growth

We will unlock our growth potential by utilising our premium hectorite asset as well as our leading capabilities in rheology and formulation solutions. Together, we call these our winning differentiators.

As recognised experts in rheology, we have deep technical knowledge and a reputation for long-standing innovation in personal care and coatings applications.

Our aim in rheology, which makes up approximately 60% of Group revenue, is to build on our existing share of the $4bn personal care and coatings market, as well as to enter new and adjacent markets with an addressable size of $4bn.

To accelerate growth across our portfolio, we will be using three key levers:

-	We are increasing our investment in innovation, with research and development ("R&D") spend increasing from 2% to 3% of Group revenue. In addition, having achieved a 200 bps improvement in our Innovation Revenue to 16.4%, our target is to grow this to 20% over the medium term. Our approach to innovation will be multi-faceted. A key focus, however, will be to increase the penetration of hectorite in our product portfolio through focused innovation and the development of new use cases, such as in agro chemicals, fire retardants, and household and industrial cleaning products. Over the medium term, we expect double-digit growth in revenue from hectorite-based products;
-	We will enhance customer intimacy by leveraging our global footprint and expanding direct account coverage to enable us to move up the innovation curve and deliver more impactful higher-margin products. We will also establish new warehouses and technical support labs in Southeast Asia and India; and
-	To complement our organic-led innovation growth, we will selectively pursue bolt-on M&A opportunities that complement our portfolio and capabilities, such as the acquisition of Alchemy in November 2025, while maintaining balance sheet strength and financial discipline.

First choice for customers

Having spent years in sales, I know firsthand that being top of mind - and the first choice for customers - is not just desirable; it is essential. It demands focus, consistency, and commitment from every colleague across the business. Each of us has a role to play in making Elementis the partner of choice for our customers.

We have identified three focus areas to help achieve this priority.

-	On-Time, In-Full (OTIF) improvement - This is a key performance metric that measures how reliably a supplier delivers products to customers. A higher OTIF is indicative of a more reliable supplier and leads to greater customer satisfaction. Our OTIF levels between 2020 and the first quarter of 2025 fell below historic levels and we see a 20% upside opportunity to reach industry best in class. Thanks to our proactive measures, we are already seeing encouraging signs of progress in our OTIF performance, which has risen from 76% last year to 83% by the end of 2025.
-	Leveraging our footprint to increase output - For us, this means maximising our operational efficiency through several parallel measures, including debottlenecking at critical plants, first and foremost at our St. Louis plant, implementing preventive and predictive maintenance strategies across all our operations, improving batch efficiency through process optimisation, and using digital tools such as real-time monitoring and analytics to help identify efficiencies and optimise production.
-	Customer-first mindset - We are investing in our colleagues to nurture a culture that embraces a customer first, growth-driven mindset, where every employee, regardless of their role, understands how they contribute to our long-term success.

Simpler, leaner Elementis

To deliver our growth agenda, it is imperative that we become a simpler, leaner business.

The successful completion of our $30m in aggregate cost savings programme over the last two years, via our Fit for the Future restructuring and supply chain improvement programmes, has created a strong foundation by which we can help shape Elementis to become more agile and dynamic.

While we will continuously look to optimise our cost base, for example through the additional $10m in net savings announced in July (of this amount, $6m was delivered in 2025 and the remainder will be delivered in 2026), our focus is on building the right mindset to succeed: reducing complexity, improving responsiveness, and accelerating execution. These principles are embedded in how we work, and it is encouraging to see their impact cascading across the organisation.

New medium-term targets

Our new medium-term ambitions, which are aligned with these priorities, are as follows:

-	Mid-single digit revenue growth through the cycle;
-	Adjusted operating profit margin 23%+;
-	Three-year operating cash conversion >90%;
-	Return on capital employed (excluding goodwill) >30%.

Acquisition of Alchemy

In November 2025, we announced the acquisition of UK-based Alchemy for an enterprise value of $22m on a cash-free debt-free basis.

Alchemy develops innovative, high-quality, sustainable rheology modifiers for the personal care industry. Its products are natural functional ingredients that fully or partially replace synthetic raw materials in cosmetic formulations. Alchemy's key technologies revolve predominantly around oil gelling (with the Sucragel® and Sapogel® families of products) and water gelling (Clearthix® and Sclerothix®).

Alchemy brings exciting new products and technologies that are complementary to our portfolio, further enhancing our expertise in formulation solutions and rheology, and which are highly synergistic with our hectorite products. These will help to create new sensory profiles and textures to enhance the Group's Cosmetics and Skin Care product ranges. Elementis will enable Alchemy to build on its success by leveraging its global sales and distribution network alongside its complementary technology and application knowledge.

Strategic sale of pharmaceutical manufacturing business

On 3 March 2026, we reached an agreement to sell our pharmaceutical manufacturing business, which makes antacids and excipients to ABF, for an enterprise value of c.€34m ( equivalent to c.$40m). For the year ended 31 December 2025, the business contributed c.$35m to Group revenue.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to complete  in Q2 2026. The strategic divestment is in line with our strategic priorities and focus on the Personal Care and Coatings markets. The transaction will lower the Group's capital intensity and is expected to lead to an uplift to our Personal Care and Group adjusted operating margins. Following closing, we expect to return the net cash proceeds to shareholders.

Innovating sustainably at the core of our strategy

At Elementis, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. Our sustainability priorities cover three areas: the environment, people and responsible business. All three components are critical to the delivery of our strategy.

Starting with the environment, our recently validated science-based target ("SBT") for greenhouse gas ("GHG") reductions from the Science Based Targets initiative ("SBTi") in March 2025 was a major milestone, and we made good progress in our first year. The expansion of low-carbon electricity across all our US manufacturing sites, the installation of rooftop solar panels in Anji, China, and energy efficiency initiatives such as the upgrading of heat exchangers in Livingston, UK, and in Anji, China, are all evidence of this.

Looking further ahead, we are working closely with our customers to reduce our collective environmental impacts and take advantage of sustainability-driven changes in the wider economy to move towards a more circular economy and our Net Zero by 2050 ambitions.

Whether we are reformulating legacy products or developing new products, our aim is to increase the percentage of revenue from products that contain at least 50% of natural or naturally-derived content to above 60% by 2027.

Examples of such innovation include our RHEOLATE® biobased Non-ionic Synthetic Associative Thickener ("NiSAT") additives, which are used in premium decorative paints, and which have over 90% biobased content and more effective rheological properties than our previous-generation petrochemical-based NiSATs. In Personal Care, in our AP Active business, we launched DEOLUXE™ SC. This is a biodegradable antiperspirant and deodorant active. This new product addresses a key challenge in non-metal-based high-performance sweat control, featuring strong and clinically proven sweat reduction. We also launched NATURALUXETM MFF as a biodegradable film former and emollient for sunscreens. It is a biobased polymer that has good film-forming properties, good UV filter compatibility, and improved water resistance. These help with more uniform coverage, build consumer trust in the sunscreen's durability on the skin, and apply to all types of sunscreen applications.

Turning to People. Our employees play a pivotal role in bringing our purpose to life - delivering unique chemistry and sustainable solutions. We measure the satisfaction levels of our employees using the Gallup survey. I am pleased to share that, despite a period of significant change in the organisation, we improved on our mean score by 0.13 to 4.04 out of 5.00. Our goal is to continuously improve year on year, with clear engagement goals set annually. We are currently at the 62nd percentile globally and remain committed to making meaningful progress, recognising that long-term improvement depends on sustained focus, collective effort and collaboration.

In January 2026, we were pleased to have been awarded Bronze in the Chemicals sector at Britain's Most Admired Companies awards, the UK's longest‑running independent peer‑review study of corporate reputation, run by Echo Research in partnership with the London Stock Exchange.

On Safety, we are committed to becoming a zero-injury business and we continue to invest in building a strong, proactive safety culture. This includes strengthening competencies, embedding risk‑based decision‑making, and implementing global Health, Safety and Environment ("HSE") and process safety standards across our operations.

This year, I am pleased to report that we have achieved our first zero lost time accident year since 2019 - a significant milestone and a positive reflection of the efforts across our teams. Regrettably though, we had four recordable injuries during the year, compared with two last year. While these were all non-serious in nature, our commitment is clear: no incident is acceptable. In response, we significantly increased our audits, inspections, and stop‑work reporting, more than doubling these activities across our sites. This strengthened safe behaviours, enhanced accident‑prevention practices, and enabled us to identify improvement opportunities through a more risk‑based approach.

On Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ("DE&I"), we continue to make good progress. Of note, I am pleased to share that we maintained the number of female colleagues in senior positions at 42% and our ethnic diversity in the US was also unchanged at 29%.

Finally, on being a Responsible Business, we are continuing to invest in key areas such as cyber security, ethics training and responsible sourcing.

Outlook

While the demand environment for coatings remains soft and the geopolitical backdrop remains uncertain, our repositioning as a pure-play specialty chemicals business and operational momentum give us confidence as we enter 2026 and deliver another year of progress.

Our priorities for the year ahead are to:

-	Accelerate the pace and quality of innovation, with a focus towards sustainable products, to strengthen our leadership positions in rheology and formulation solutions;
-	Expand direct customer account coverage to deepen relationships and deliver superior service;
-	Drive greater simplicity and efficiency across our operations to enhance agility;
-	Advance our sustainability agenda by designing more sustainable products, reducing GHG emissions and energy intensity while maintaining a strong safety work ethic; and
-	Deliver attractive returns to shareholders by effectively balancing our capital allocation priorities to generate maximum value.

 

Business performance overview

Personal Care

Personal Care financial performance

Personal Care revenue increased 3.3% on a reported basis and was 2.4% down on a constant currency basis to $224.5m (2024: $217.4m), driven by improved pricing and volumes benefits that helped to offset negative mix impacts in the year. Of this amount, $0.5m related to the pro-rata contribution from the acquisition of Alchemy, which we completed in November 2025.

Revenues were higher across Europe, up 6%, and Asia, up 1%, with Americas flat overall.

Adjusted operating profit increased 18.2% on a reported basis and 16.9% on a constant currency basis to $72.8m (2024: $61.6m). Growth was driven by higher pricing and cost savings actions, including the closure of the Middletown AP Actives plant. These actions led to an improvement in adjusted operating margin, which increased from 28.3% to 32.4%, a 410 bps improvement.

Personal Care strategic progress

Our Personal Care business operates in attractive growth markets globally. Our focus is within Skin Care, Colour Cosmetics and Antiperspirants Actives. Leveraging our deep expertise in rheology and formulation solutions, we develop high-value performance additives for a range of customers that include multinationals and distributors. We also work closely with several fast-growing local Indie brands.

Hectorite is a key ingredient for our personal care formulations and is used in both its pure and blended forms (alongside complementary technologies such as emollients and emulsifiers). This special product with its superior sensorial and rheological benefits makes it ideal for developing new formulations in Personal Care that can help our customers' sunscreen give maximum UV protection through an even application on the skin or enable the ingredients in an antiperspirant bottle to be suspended evenly to give consistent coverage on the skin. Hectorite penetration in the Personal Care portfolio is currently c. 40% and we expect this to continue to grow over the medium term.

During the year we introduced seven new products, four of which were hectorite-based products. We expanded our technology toolkit and developed two highly customised products, based on individual customer specifications. Our partnership-led approach to innovation is helping us gain momentum with our customers and drive revenue growth. Revenue from new and innovation products increased to 22.2% (2024: 17.0%), and our new business pipeline was $92m, compared with $89m in the prior year.

In Cosmetics, we continue to see growing demand for natural products and 'skinification', the practice of applying skin care principles to the entire body.

In response to this, during the year, we launched BENTONE® ULTIMATE ISD and BENTONE® ULTIMATE LC, part of the BENTONE® ULTIMATE series, an innovative, patent-pending oil-based rheology technology. Based on our industry-leading organically modified hectorite clay, the new gel technology utilises a 100% natural activation system that gives manufacturers and formulators more flexibility in their application due to its efficacy and stability benefits.

In Skin Care, the biggest trend remains sustainability. Replacing non-biodegradable polymers with natural thickeners is driving revenue in the BENTONE HYDROCLAY™ range. We also launched NATURALUXE™ MFF, our latest innovation in sun care at In-Cosmetics Asia 2025, one of the leading trade events in the Asia-Pacific region. This new multi-functional eco-friendly film former (essential for sunscreen formulations) forms a thin, invisible layer on the skin to enhance coverage and durability. In addition, as a polymeric emollient, it provides long-lasting wear and helps sunscreens to feel soft and spread evenly on the skin.

Alchemy's addition strengthens our Cosmetics and Skin Care portfolio with high‑margin, high‑growth technologies that create a strong foundation for continued growth.

Lastly, in AP Actives, a significant highlight of the year was the launch of our non-metal-based, biodegradable sweat control antiperspirant and deodorant active, DEOLUXE™ SC, at the In-Cosmetics Global trade fair in Amsterdam, in April 2025. This new product addresses a key challenge in non-metal-based high-performance sweat control, featuring strong and clinically proven sweat reduction. Following the launch, several large customers have placed orders for sampling and testing purposes, and we expect to commence commercial sales during the second half of 2026.

 

Coatings

Coatings financial performance

In line with the broader market, Coatings revenue was down 3.5% on a reported basis and 4.3% down on a constant currency basis respectively to $373.0m (2024: $386.4m), due to weaker volume demand for industrial and architectural coatings across all regions. Our Energy business, which accounts for c. 10% of total Coatings revenue, performed strongly, with volumes, pricing and mix higher than last year.

Adjusted operating profit was down 10.2% on a reported basis and was down 11.6% on a constant currency basis to $70.4m (2024: $78.4m), driven by self-help actions, as well as improved pricing benefits. The adjusted operating margin was marginally down at 18.9% compared with 20.3%, demonstrating the quality and resilience of the business amid a continued weak demand environment.

Coatings strategic progress

Our Coatings business operates across three key markets: Industrial Coatings, Architectural Coatings and Energy. Through our expertise in rheology and formulation, we develop high-value performance additives solutions for a range of customers that include multinationals and distributors. We also work with established local businesses that have a strong regional presence.

Within our portfolio, hectorite has become an increasingly important ingredient in both pure and blended forms. With its special three-dimensional structure, this naturally-derived mineral offers outstanding viscosity control, formulation stability, and application performance. Its ability to deliver smooth, consistent flow and prevent settling makes it ideal for a wide range of coating systems, from providing a uniform finish in architectural paints, to improving the workability and durability of industrial coatings, adhesives and sealants, and construction materials. Hectorite is often used in combination with other high-performance additives from our portfolio, including organoclays, NiSATs, dispersants, defoamers, organic thixotropes, and other specialty additives to help formulators address complex formulation challenges.

In 2025, we launched 12 new products across our Coatings business, one of which was hectorite-based. We expanded our technology toolkit and developed two highly customised products, based on individual customer specifications. Revenue from new and innovation products increased to 13.4% (2024: 13.2%) and our new business pipeline was $170m compared with $182m in the prior year.

Following the launch of two RHEOLATE® biobased NiSATs last year, we launched RHEOLATE® HX 6030 in 2025. This high-efficiency NiSAT is made for high-performance, ultra-low Volatile Organic Compound ("VOC") coatings for architectural applications.

This next-generation thickener, which was co-developed with a large customer, offers good sag resistance, excellent flow and levelling, and broad compatibility for a wide range of water-based systems. In addition, we have introduced the product more broadly to the market, with strong growth potential expected in the Americas. We are also seeing potential opportunities emerging in other key regions, including Southeast Asia and EMEA.

In Industrial Coatings, we launched THIXATROL® 5050W, our latest innovation for waterborne automotive coatings. It delivers superior metallic pigment alignment without adding viscosity or compromising formulation stability. With this 100% water-based additive, formulators can achieve brilliant, even finishes with fewer formulation steps and less complexity.

Finally, in relation to our Energy business, we launched BENAQUA® 1101. This is one of the first water-based rheology solutions that withstands the extreme demands of high-temperature, high-pressure drilling - with thermal stability proven up to 400°F (204°C).

During the year, we were pleased to announce that our recently launched RHEOLATE® biobased NiSAT, featuring over 90% biobased content (C14 measured), won the 2025 Coatings Industry Ringier Technology Innovation Award. This prestigious recognition is renowned for honouring significant technologies that set new benchmarks in the coatings sector. The achievement highlights our distinctive expertise and reaffirms our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative solutions to the paint and coatings industry.

 

Finance report

Revenue

$m	2025	2024
Coatings	373.0	386.4
Personal Care	224.5	217.4
Revenue	597.5	603.8

Operating profit

$m	2025 Operating profit/ (loss)	Adjusting items	2025 Adjusted operating profit/ (loss)1	2024 Operating profit/(loss)	Adjusting items	2024 Adjusted operating profit/ (loss)1
Coatings	64.7	5.7	70.4	73.5	4.9	78.4
Personal Care	63.4	9.4	72.8	49.3	12.3	61.6
Central costs	(19.1)	2.6	(16.5)	(26.8)	6.0	(20.8)
Operating profit	109.0	17.7	126.7	96.0	23.2	119.2

1. After adjusting items, see Note 5 for detail.

 

The 2024 results in this finance report have been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business.

Group results

In 2025 revenue decreased to $597.5m (2024: $603.8m), down 1.0% on a reported basis or 1.9% on a constant currency basis, driven by lower volumes in Coatings and mix effects. Reductions in volumes were partially offset by pricing actions.

Adjusted operating profit increased 6.3% on a reported basis and 4.6% on a constant currency basis to $126.7m (2024: $119.2m), driven by self-help initiatives and proactive cost management. Reported operating profit was $109.0m (2024: $96.0m), a 13.5% increase on a reported basis; this, combined with lower finance costs in the year, led to a 27.7% increase in profit from continuing operations to $62.3m, compared with $48.8m in the prior year.

Loss for the year of $45.5m is driven by the successful sale of the Talc business for the purpose of refocusing the Group's strategy, for an amount less than its carrying value. This resulted in a loss on sale of the Talc business of $110.5m.

Central costs

Central costs are those costs that are not identifiable as expenses of a particular business segment and comprise expenditure of the Board of Directors and corporate head office. Adjusted central costs decreased to $16.2m (2024: $20.8m), largely driven by proactive cost management, including benefits associated with business transformation.

Adjusting items

In addition to the statutory results, the Group uses alternative performance measures ("APM") to provide additional analysis of the performance of the business. The Board considers these non-GAAP measures as an alternative way to measure the Group's performance. Adjusting items in 2025 resulted in a charge of $17.6m before tax (2024: $22.6m). The key categories of adjusting items are summarised below. For more information on adjusting items, please see Note 5 to the financial statements.

Credit/(charge) $m	Coatings	Personal Care	Central costs	Total
Business transformation	-	0.8	6.7	7.5
Acquisitions and disposals	-	0.4	(6.8)	(6.4)
St. Louis operational transformation	3.5	-	-	3.5
Cloud and data transformation	-	-	2.2	2.2
Early termination of contract	1.9	-	-	1.9
St. Louis fire	0.3	-	-	0.3
Environmental provisions	-	-	0.5	0.5
Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisitions	-	8.2	-	8.2
Total charge to operating profit	5.7	9.4	2.6	17.7
Unwind of discount on provision	-	-	1.1	1.1
Interest on EU state aid receivable	-	-	(1.2)	(1.2)
Total charged to net finance costs	-	-	(0.1)	(0.1)
Total charged to profit before tax	5.7	9.4	2.5	17.6

 

Business transformation

Costs of $7.5m (2024: $6.6m) primarily included: $4.4m (2024: $nil) of transitionary costs of the exiting CEO and other related restructuring items; costs of $2.3m (2024: $4.1m) in relation to the Fit for the Future restructuring programme which was announced in September 2023 and completed during 2025; and costs of $0.8m (2024: $1.6m) in relation to the closure of the Middletown plant and preparation of the site for sale. See Note 5 for further detail.

Acquisitions and disposals

A net credit of $6.4m (2024: cost of $0.2m) was recognised in relation to acquisitions and disposals. This principally included a credit of $6.9m in relation to the gain on sale of the Eaglescliffe site and $0.3m of transaction costs incurred in relation to the acquisition of Alchemy Ingredients Limited.

St. Louis operational transformation

Costs of $3.5m (2024: $nil) in relation to the transformation programme at the Group's St. Louis plant in 2025.

Cloud and data transformation

Costs of $2.2m (2024: $2.1m) include $1.6m (2024: $2.1m) of costs in relation to the data transformation programme due to be completed in 2027 and $0.7m (2024: $nil) of costs in relation to upgrading the Group's Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP") system due to be completed in 2027.

Early termination of contract

Costs of $1.9m (2024: $nil) were recognised in respect of an early termination fee paid to one of the Group's contracts.

St. Louis fire

Costs of $0.3m (2024: $1.3m) were recognised in respect of the fire at the St. Louis plant which occurred in November 2024. These costs relate to the write off of items of property, plant and equipment that were damaged as a result of the fire.

Environmental provisions

Charges of $0.5m (2024: $1.8m) were recognised in respect of the Group's environmental provision. The environmental provision is calculated on a discounted cash flow basis, reflecting the time period over which spending is estimated to take place. The movement in the provision relates to changes in discount rates, which have resulted in a reduction of $0.8m (2024: $2.2m), and extra remediation work identified in the year, which has resulted in a $1.3m (2024: $4.0m) increase to the liability. Also included within adjusting items is a charge of $1.1m, within finance costs, in relation to the unwind of the discount on the provision.

Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisitions

Amortisation of $8.2m (2024: $8.2m) has been recognised in relation to the Group's acquired intangible assets.

Interest on EU state aid receivable

Finance income of $1.2m (2024: $1.2m) has been recognised in respect of interest due to the Group.

Net finance costs

$m	2025	2024
Finance income	0.7	0.2
Finance cost of borrowings	(17.5)	(20.0)
Net finance cost of borrowings	(16.8)	(19.8)
Net pension finance income	1.3	1.4
Unwind of discount on provisions	(1.3)	(1.5)
Interest on EU state aid receivable	1.2	1.2
Interest on lease liabilities	(0.9)	(1.1)
Net finance costs	(16.5)	(19.8)

Net finance costs decreased in the year to $16.5m (2024: $19.8m). Net finance costs comprise interest payable on borrowings, calculated using the effective interest rate method, amortisation of facility arrangement fees, the unwinding of discounts on the Group's environmental provisions, net pension interest income/expense, fair value movement on derivatives, interest receivable on the EU state aid receivable balance and interest charged on lease liabilities.

The decrease in net finance costs is primarily due to the lower finance cost of borrowings as a result of lower interest rates.

Net pension finance income of $1.3m (2024: $1.4m) is a function of discount rates under IAS 19, and the value of the schemes' deficit or surplus positions.

The Group's environmental provisions are calculated on a discounted basis, reflecting the time period over which the spending is estimated to take place. The unwind of discount on provisions of $1.3m (2024: $1.5m) was lower than the prior year due to the sale of the Eaglescliffe site and the related environmental liabilities.

Interest on lease liabilities of $0.9m (2024: $1.1m) is a function of the discount rates under IFRS 16, and was lower than the prior year due to reduced lease liabilities.

Interest on the EU state aid receivable balance was consistent with the prior year at $1.2m.

Taxation

	2025		2024
	$m	Effective rate %	$m	Effective rate %
Reported tax charge	27.6	30.7	25.5	34.3
Adjusting items tax charge	(1.6)	-	(0.8)	-
Adjusted tax charge	26.0	24.2	24.7	25.5

The Group incurred a tax charge of $26.0m (2024: $24.7m) on adjusted profit before tax, resulting in an effective tax rate of 24.2% (2024: 25.5%). The Group's adjusted effective tax rate in 2025 decreased due to the closure of an overseas tax audit and the subsequent release of an associated provision.

Tax on adjusting items relates primarily to the business transformation expenditure and amortisation of intangible assets, partially offset by an uncertain tax position. See Note 6 for further detail.

The medium-term expectation for the Group's adjusted effective tax rate is around 25%.

Earnings per share

To aid comparability of the underlying performance of the Group, earnings per share ("EPS") reported under IFRS is adjusted for items classified as adjusting.

	2025	2024
Profit from continuing operations ($m)	62.3	48.8
Adjusting items net of tax ($m)	19.2	23.2
Adjusted profit after tax ($m)	81.5	72.0
Weighted average number of shares for the purpose of basic EPS (m)	583.6	588.9
Effect of dilutive shares options (m)	10.5	11.9
Weighted average number of shares for the purpose of diluted EPS (m)	594.1	600.8
Reported basic EPS (cents)	10.7	8.3
Reported diluted EPS (cents)	10.5	8.1
Adjusted basic EPS (cents)	14.0	12.2
Adjusted diluted EPS (cents)	13.7	12.0

 

Reported basic EPS and Adjusted diluted EPS were up 28.9% and 14.2% to 10.7 cents (2024: 8.3 cents) per share and 13.7 cents (2024: 12.0 cents) per share respectively, primarily due to the higher profit after tax and adjusted profit after tax figures.

Note 9 provides disclosure of EPS calculations, both including and excluding the effects of adjusting items and the potential dilutive effects of outstanding and exercisable options.

Distributions to shareholders

The Board has considered the strength of the balance sheet and the near-term prospects for the business and, in line with the stated dividend policy, recommended a final dividend of 3.0 cents per share (2024: 2.9 cents), which will be paid in pounds sterling, resulting in a full-year dividend of 4.3 cents per share. A dividend of 2.23 pence per share has been determined by converting the 3.0 cents into pounds sterling using the forward rate of £1.00:$1.3482, as determined on 27 February 2026. If approved at the AGM, the dividend will be paid on 29 May 2026 to shareholders included on the share register on 1 May 2026.

During the period the Group also undertook a share buyback programme totalling $53.8m. This brings total returns to shareholders in the period to c.$79m.

Cash flow

As per the statutory cash flow statement, net cash inflow from operating activities decreased to $74.2m (2024: $100.0m), primarily as a result of a higher net working capital outflow, which excludes discontinued operations and is adjusted for foreign exchange impacts and lower net cash flow from discontinued operations of $6.7m (2024: $27.3m), which was partially offset by improved profit from continuing operations.

Net cash flow used in investing activities was $7.3m (2024: $37.5m), significantly reduced from the prior year, primarily as a result of the receipt of $52.5m from the sale of the Talc business, made up of $60.2m gross cash proceeds less cash sold of $7.7m, along with a lower net cash flow from discontinued operations of $6.7m (2024: $20.8m). These amounts were partially offset by $11.1m of cash outflow related to the completion of the sale of the Eaglescliffe site, and $20.1m outflow in relation to the acquisition of Alchemy Ingredients Limited.

Net cash outflow used in financing activities was $82.4m (2024: outflow $59.8m), up from the prior year in part due to the Group's share buyback programme ($53.8m). Movements in debt to a net inflow of $2.2m, from a net outflow in 2024 of $34.8m, included the repayment of €142m borrowings as part of the refinancing in May 2025, along with the drawing of a new $110m term, with a maturity date of May 2029. Dividends paid during the year were $25.3m, compared with $18.8m in the prior year.

The adjusted cash flow, which excludes the effect of adjusting items from operating cash flow and is therefore distinct from the statutory cash flow referenced above, is summarised below. A reconciliation between statutory operating profit and EBITDA is shown in the APM section.

Adjusted cash flow

$m	2025	2024
Adjusted EBITDA1	149.0	141.7
Change in working capital	(21.6)	(1.6)
Capital expenditure	(22.7)	(16.9)
Adjusted operating cash flow	104.7	123.2
Pension payments	(2.3)	(0.6)
Interest	(16.3)	(16.8)
Tax	(22.1)	(26.5)
Adjusting items	(22.3)	(29.0)
Other2	(0.7)	0.7
Free cash flow	41.0	51.0
Issue of shares, net of share repurchases	(53.8)	0.5
Dividends paid	(25.3)	(18.8)
Acquisitions and disposals	21.3	-
Discontinued operations	(1.0)	4.8
Currency fluctuations	(10.4)	7.3
Movement in net debt	(28.2)	44.8
Net debt at start of year	(157.2)	(202.0)
Net debt at end of year	(185.4)	(157.2)

1. Earnings before interest, tax, adjusting items, depreciation and amortisation.

2. Other includes share-based payments, movement in provisions, movement in derivatives and payment of lease liabilities.

Adjusted operating cash flow decreased to $104.7m (2024: $123.2m), primarily driven by higher working capital outflow and higher capital expenditure, partially offset by an improvement in adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusting items decreased to $22.3m (2024: $29.0m), primarily due to lower amounts paid in relation to the Fit for the Future restructuring programme, which was completed during the year.

Free cash flow decreased to $41.0m (2024: $51.0m), primarily driven by reduced operating cash flow, partially offset by lower cash taxes and lower adjusting items.

Acquisitions and disposals includes net cash proceeds received or paid for business acquisitions and disposals. Acquisitions and disposals increased to $21.3m as a result cash received for the sale of the Talc business, offset by net of cash paid for the sale of the Eaglescliffe site and Alchemy acquisition.

Net debt increased to $185.4m (2024: $157.2m), an increase of $28.2m, following the acquisition of Alchemy and return of cash to shareholders. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA increased to 1.3x in 2025 on a pre-IFRS 16 basis (2024: 1.1x).

Balance sheet

$m	31 December 2025	31 December 2024
Intangible fixed assets	603.9	585.9
Tangible fixed assets	169.0	338.0
Working capital	132.5	137.4
Net tax liabilities	(74.7)	(68.3)
Provisions and retirement benefit obligations	12.8	(29.4)
Financial assets and liabilities	0.3	3.9
Lease liabilities	(20.4)	(34.7)
Unamortised syndicate fees	3.8	3.7
Net debt	(185.4)	(157.2)
Net assets held for sale	2.1	(22.3)
Total equity	643.9	757.0

Group equity decreased to $643.9m (2024: $757.0m), primarily driven by lower fixed assets and higher net debt, partially offset the change lower provisions and retirement benefit obligations from a net liability to a net asset.

Intangible fixed assets increased by $18.0m, primarily due to the acquisition of Alchemy Ingredients Limited, partially offset by the sale of the Talc business. The decrease in tangible fixed assets of $169.0m primarily relates to the sale of the Talc business.

Working capital, which comprises inventories, trade and other receivables, and trade and other payables, decreased by $4.9m. The decrease was driven by the sale of the Talc business, which resulted in lower inventories and receivables at the end of the year, partially offset by lower payables.

Provisions and retirement benefit obligations changed from a net liability to a net asset, primarily due to the sale of the Talc business and utilisation of the restructuring provisions.

Net debt increased primarily as a result of the share buyback, the impact of the foreign exchange and lower free cash flow, offset by net cash received from acquisitions and disposals.

Net assets held for sale changed from a net liability to a net asset of $2.1m primarily as a result of the sale of the Eaglescliffe site. The net asset held for sale relates to the Middletown site.

Adjusted ROCE (excluding goodwill) improved to 30% (2024: 29%), reflecting higher adjusted operating profit offset by higher operating capital employed (see the APM section for more detail).

Trade working capital

	2025		2024
	$m	Days	$m	Days
Inventory	142.9	144.2	152.5	117.1
Trade receivables	68.9	40.8	78.1	36.0
Trade payables and accruals	(88.6)	92.9	(101.0)	77.8
Total trade working capital	123.2		129.6
Average working capital to sales (%)	23.9		23.4

 

Total trade working capital decreased to $123.2m (2024: $129.6m). The decrease is primarily driven by the sale of the Talc business, offset by higher inventories post-sale of the Talc business. The higher post-sale of the Talc business inventories was a result a strategic build up of inventories to support growth ambitions and improve customer service experiences, as well as reflecting higher raw material pricing and manufacturing costs.

Foreign currency

The financial information is presented in US dollars. The main dollar exchange rates relevant to the Group are set out below.

	2025		2024
	Year end	Average	Year end	Average
Pounds sterling	0.74	0.76	0.80	0.78
Euro	0.85	0.89	0.97	0.92

Pensions and other post-retirement benefits

$m	2025	2024
UK	(19.5)	(23.0)
US	(2.1)	(1.2)
Other	5.5	5.2
Net (surplus)/liability:	(16.1)	(19.0)

UK plan

The largest of the Group's retirement plans is the UK defined benefit pension scheme ("UK Scheme"), which at the end of 2025 had a surplus, under IAS 19, of $19.5m (2024: $23.0m). The UK Scheme is relatively mature, with approximately two thirds of its gross liabilities represented by pensions in payment, and is closed to new members. The decrease in net surplus was largely driven by actuarial losses on the plan. Company contributions of $nil (2024: $nil) reflect the funding agreement reached with the UK trustees following the 2023 triennial valuation, which concluded in 2024.

US plan

In the US, the Group reports two post retirement plans under IAS 19: a defined benefit pension plan with a net surplus at the end of 2025 of $5.4m (2024: $4.6m), and a post retirement medical plan with a liability of $3.3m (2024: $3.4m). The US pension plans are smaller than the UK plan. In 2025, the overall surplus on the US plans increased by $0.9m, primarily as a result of employer contributions of $1.2m (2024: $0.4m).

Other plans

Other pension plans amounted to $5.5m (2024: $5.2m) and relate to pension arrangements for a relatively small number of employees in Germany, certain UK legacy benefits and one pension scheme acquired as part of the SummitReheis transaction in 2017.

Financial assets and liabilities

The Group uses cash flow hedges to manage exposure to interest rate and commodity price risks, particularly those associated with US dollar and euro interest payments and aluminium pricing. In 2025, interest rate and commodity price movements resulted in a net gain from the hedge transactions of $4.5m (2024: $4.4m) recycled to the income statement.

Net financial assets are represented by net derivative financial assets of $0.3m (2024: $3.9m), which relate to the valuation of various risk management instruments.

Events after the balance sheet date

On 3 March 2026, Elementis entered into a share purchase agreement to sell its pharmaceutical manufacturing business to ABF for an enterprise value of c.€34m (equivalent to c.$40m). Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in Q2 2026.

There were no other significant events after the balance sheet date.

 

Consolidated income statement

For the year ended 31 December 2025

		2025 $m	20241 $m
Revenue		597.5	603.8
Cost of sales		(317.4)	(314.2)
Gross profit		280.1	289.6
Distribution costs		(91.6)	(98.5)
Administrative expenses		(79.5)	(95.1)
Operating profit		109.0	96.0
Comprising of:
Adjusted operating profit		126.7	119.2
Adjusting items		(17.7)	(23.2)
Other expenses2		(2.6)	(2.0)
Finance income		3.0	2.9
Finance costs		(19.5)	(22.6)
Profit before income tax		89.9	74.3
Tax		(27.6)	(25.5)
Profit from continuing operations		62.3	48.8
Loss from discontinued operations		(107.8)	(96.6)
Loss for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent		(45.5)	(47.8)
Earnings per share
From continuing operations
Basic earnings (cents)		10.7	8.3
Diluted earnings (cents)		10.5	8.1
Adjusted basic earnings (cents)		14.0	12.2
Adjusted diluted earnings (cents)		13.7	12.0
From continuing and discontinued operations
Basic loss (cents)		(7.8)	(8.1)
Diluted loss (cents)		(7.8)	(8.1)

1 2024 has been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business.

2 Other expenses comprise administration expenses for the Group's pension schemes.

 

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

For the year ended 31 December 2025

		2025 $m	20241 $m
Loss for the year		(45.5)	(47.8)
Other comprehensive income:
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss:
Remeasurement of retirement benefit obligations		(3.1)	(14.3)
Deferred tax associated with retirement benefit obligations		0.8	3.5
Items relating to discontinued operations, net of tax		-	-
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss:
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations		11.4	(23.9)
Effective portion of change in fair value of net investment hedge		0.9	6.5
Effective portion of changes in fair value of cash flow hedges		0.5	1.4
Fair value of cash flow hedges transferred to income statement		0.6	1.8
Tax associated with changes in cash flow hedges		0.3	(0.4)
Exchange differences on translation of share options reserves		0.7	0.1
Items relating to discontinued operations, net of tax		(7.0)	(5.3)
Other comprehensive income/(loss)		5.1	(30.6)
Total comprehensive loss for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent		(40.4)	(78.4)

1 2024 has been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business.

 

Consolidated balance sheet

as at 31 December 2025

		2025 31 December $m	2024 31 December $m
Non-current assets
Goodwill and other intangible assets		603.9	585.9
Property, plant and equipment		169.0	338.0
Derivative financial assets		-	1.8
Deferred tax assets		0.6	7.4
Net retirement benefit surplus		26.5	27.6
Total non-current assets		800.0	960.7
Current assets
Inventories		142.9	152.5
Trade and other receivables		81.6	93.3
Derivative financial assets		0.4	3.6
EU State aid tax recoverable		23.7	21.0
Current tax assets		9.3	11.2
Cash and cash equivalents		54.6	59.9
Total current assets		312.5	341.5
Assets classified as held for sale		2.1	6.2
Total assets		1,114.6	1,308.4
Current liabilities
Short-term borrowings		(50.0)	-
Trade and other payables		(92.0)	(108.4)
Derivative financial liabilities		-	(1.5)
Current tax liabilities		(16.0)	(9.8)
Lease liabilities		(4.5)	(5.9)
Provisions		(1.7)	(6.3)
Total current liabilities		(164.2)	(131.9)
Non-current liabilities
Loans and borrowings		(186.2)	(219.2)
Retirement benefit obligations		(8.6)	(8.6)
Deferred tax liabilities		(92.3)	(98.1)
Lease liabilities		(15.9)	(28.8)
Provisions		(3.4)	(42.1)
Derivative financial liabilities		(0.1)	-
Total non-current liabilities		(306.5)	(396.8)
Liabilities classified as held for sale		-	(22.7)
Total liabilities		(470.7)	(551.4)
Net assets		643.9	757.0
Equity
Share capital		51.3	52.7
Share premium		239.7	239.7
Other reserves		60.5	51.5
Retained earnings		292.4	413.1
Total equity attributable to holders of the parent		643.9	757.0
Total equity		643.9	757.0

 

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

for the year ended 31 December 2025

	2025					2024
	Share capital $m	Share premium $m	Other reserves $m	Retained earnings $m	Total equity $m	Share capital $m	Share premium $m	Other reserves $m	Retained earnings $m	Total equity $m
Balance at 1 January	52.7	239.7	51.5	413.1	757.0	52.5	239.2	70.1	485.5	847.3
Comprehensive income:
Loss for the year	-	-	-	(45.5)	(45.5)	-	-	-	(47.8)	(47.8)
Other comprehensive income:
Exchange differences	-	-	13.0	-	13.0	-	-	(17.3)	-	(17.3)
Effective portion of changes in fair value of cash flow hedges	-	-	0.6	-	0.6	-	-	2.3	-	2.3
Fair value of cash flow hedges transferred to the income statement	-	-	(4.5)	-	(4.5)	-	-	(4.4)	-	(4.4)
Tax associated with changes in cash flow hedges	-	-	-	0.3	0.3	-	-	-	(0.4)	(0.4)
Remeasurements of retirement benefit obligations	-	-	-	(3.1)	(3.1)	-	-	-	(14.3)	(14.3)
Deferred tax associated with retirement benefit obligations	-	-	-	0.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	3.5
Recycling of deferred foreign exchange gains on disposal	-	-	(2.0)	-	(2.0)	-	-	-	-	-
Transfer	-	-	(6.4)	6.4	-	-	-	(5.3)	5.3	-
Total other comprehensive income/(loss)	-	-	0.7	4.4	5.1	-	-	(24.7)	(5.9)	(30.6)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)	-	-	0.7	(41.1)	(40.4)	-	-	(24.7)	(53.7)	(78.4)
Transactions with owners:
Issue of shares by the Company	0.1	-	-	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.5	-	-	0.7
Purchase of shares by the Company and Employee Share Options Trust ("ESOT")	(1.5)	-	1.5	(54.1)	(54.1)	-	-	-	-	-
Dividends paid	-	-	-	(25.3)	(25.3)	-	-	-	(18.8)	(18.8)
Deferred tax on share-based payments recognised within equity	-	-	-	(0.5)	(0.5)	-	-	-	0.1	0.1
Share-based payments	-	-	7.0	-	7.0	-	-	5.7	-	5.7
Fair value of cash flow hedges transferred to net assets	-	-	(0.2)	-	(0.2)	-	-	0.4	-	0.4
Total transactions with owners	(1.4)	-	8.3	(79.6)	(72.7)	0.2	0.5	6.1	(18.7)	(11.9)
Balance at 31 December	51.3	239.7	60.5	292.4	643.9	52.7	239.7	51.5	413.1	757.0

 

Consolidated cash flow statement

for the year ended 31 December 2025

	2025 $m	20241 $m
Operating activities:
Profit from continuing operations	62.3	48.8
Adjustments for:
Other expenses	2.6	1.9
Gain on disposal of Eaglescliffe site	(6.9)	-
Finance income	(3.0)	(2.9)
Finance costs	19.5	22.6
Tax charge/(credit)	27.6	25.7
Depreciation and amortisation	30.7	31.3
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment	0.8	1.0
Decrease in provisions and financial liabilities	(11.3)	(16.3)
Pension payments net of current service cost	(2.3)	(0.6)
Share-based payments expense	6.9	6.1
Operating cash flow before movement in working capital	126.9	117.6
(Increase)/decrease in inventories	(7.7)	5.1
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables	(7.6)	8.2
Decrease in trade and other payables	(4.7)	(14.8)
Cash generated by operations	106.9	116.1
Income taxes paid	(22.1)	(26.5)
Interest paid	(17.3)	(16.9)
Net cash flow used in operating activities from discontinued operations	6.7	27.3
Net cash flow from operating activities	74.2	100.0
Investing activities:
Interest received	1.0	0.2
Purchase of property plant and equipment	(22.3)	(16.5)
Purchase of intangible assets	(0.6)	(0.4)
Disposal of business	41.4	-
Acquisition of business	(20.1)	-
Net cash flow used in investing activities from discontinued operations	(6.7)	(20.8)
Net cash flow used in investing activities	(7.3)	(37.5)
Financing activities:
Issue of shares by the Company	0.3	0.5
Repurchases of shares by the Company and ESOT	(54.1)	-
Repayment of term loans	(244.0)	(25.0)
Proceeds from new term loans	166.5	-
Net movement on other loans and borrowings	79.7	(9.8)
Dividends paid	(25.3)	(18.8)
Payment of interest on lease liabilities	(0.9)	(1.1)
Payment of gross lease liabilities	(3.8)	(3.7)
Net cash flow used in financing activities from discontinued operations	(0.9)	(1.9)
Net cash flow used in financing activities	(82.5)	(59.8)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	(15.6)	2.7
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January	59.9	65.8
Foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents	4.4	(2.7)
Cash and cash equivalents classified as held for sale	5.9	(5.9)
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December	54.6	59.9

1 2024 has been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business.

 

Notes to the financial statements

1. Preparation of the preliminary announcement

The financial information in this statement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2025 or 2024 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2024 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, and those for 2025 will be delivered in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

This preliminary announcement was approved by the Board of Directors on 4 March 2026.

2. Basis of preparation

Elementis plc (the "Company") is incorporated in the UK. The information within this document has been prepared based on the Company's consolidated financial statements which are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the UK (adopted IFRS) and consistent with the accounting policies as set out in the previous consolidated financial statements.

The Group's financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except that derivative financial instruments are stated at their fair value. Non-current assets held for sale are stated at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell. The preparation of financial statements requires the application of estimates and judgements that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and costs and related disclosures at the balance sheet date.

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the previous financial year.

The comparative financial statements have been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business and classification as a discontinued operation.

Going concern

The Group and Company financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis, as the Directors are satisfied that the Group and Company have adequate resources to continue to operate for at least a period of 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements. An explanation of the Directors' assessment of using the going concern basis is given in the Directors' report in the Annual Report and Accounts 2024 which will be made available to shareholders on 25 March 2024.

Reporting currency

As a consequence of the majority of the Group's sales and earnings originating in US dollars or US dollar linked currencies, the Group has chosen the US dollar as its presentational currency. This aligns the Group's external reporting with the profile of the Group, as well as with internal management reporting.

3. Finance income

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Interest on bank deposits	0.7	0.3
Pension and other post retirement liabilities	1.1	1.4
Interest on EU state aid receivable	1.2	1.2
Total finance income	3.0	2.9

4. Finance costs

$m	2025 $m	2024 $m
Interest on bank loans	17.5	20.0
Unwind of discount on provisions	1.1	1.5
Interest on lease liabilities	0.9	1.1
Total finance costs	19.5	22.6

5. Adjusting items

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Business transformation	7.5	6.6
Acquisitions and disposals	(6.4)	0.2
St. Louis operational transformation	3.5	-
Cloud and data transformation	2.2	2.1
Early termination of contract	1.9	-
St. Louis fire	0.3	1.3
Environmental provisions	0.5	1.8
Settlement of Brazil customs matter	-	3.0
Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition	8.2	8.2
	17.7	23.2
Unwind of discount on provisions	1.1	0.4
Interest on EU state aid receivable	(1.2)	(1.2)
Tax charge in relation to adjusting items	1.6	0.8
	19.2	23.2

 

A number of items have been recorded under 'adjusting items' by virtue of their size and/or one-time nature, in line with our accounting policy in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, in order to provide additional useful analysis of the Group's results. The Group considers the adjusted results to be an important measure used to monitor how the segments are performing as they achieve consistency and comparability between reporting periods. The net impact of these items on the Group profit from continuing operations for the year is a debit of $19.2m (2024: $23.2m). The items fall into a number of categories, as summarised below:

Business transformation - costs of $7.5m (2024: $6.6m) were recognised and principally include:

Costs of $4.4m (2024: $nil) in relation to transitionary costs of the exiting CEO and other related restructuring costs. These costs primarily relate to one-off advisory and consultancy fees, salary, and LTIP-related charges in relation to the former CEO, and salary and LTIP-related costs in relation to subsequent senior leadership changes. Additional costs are expected to be incurred during the first quarter of 2026.

Costs of $2.3m (2024: $4.1m) in relation to the Fit for the Future restructuring programme which was announced in September 2023. Of the costs recognised in 2025, additional charges of $1.3m (2024: $0.7m) in relation to the restructuring provision, along with an additional $1.0m (2024: $3.4m) of costs incurred. Including discontinued operations, costs of $29.6m have been recognised since 2023 and the programme was concluded during 2025.

Costs of $0.8m (2024: $1.6m) in relation to the closure of the Middletown plant and preparation of the site for sale. Costs of $2.4m have been recognised since 2024.

Acquisitions and disposals - a net credit of $6.4m (2024: cost of $0.2m) was recognised in relation to acquisitions and disposals. This principally included a credit of $6.9m in relation to the gain on sale of the Eaglescliffe site and $0.3m of transaction costs incurred in relation to the acquisition of Alchemy Ingredients Limited.

St. Louis operational transformation - costs of $3.5m (2024: $nil) were recognised in relation to a transformation programme at the Group's St. Louis plant which was initiated and completed in 2025. These costs primarily relate to advisory fees and inventory written off due to operational changes made to the St. Louis manufacturing plant as a result of the transformation programme.

Cloud and data transformation - costs of $2.2m (2024: $2.1m) were recognised and include:

Costs of $1.6m (2024: $2.1m) in relation to the data transformation programme which was initiated to develop a new internal data analytics platform to deliver a unified global view of our data, leveraging advance analytical technology. Costs of $3.7m have been recognised since 2024 and the new platform is expected to be fully implemented during 2026.

Costs of $0.7m (2024: $nil) in relation to upgrading the Group's Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP") system. The upgraded ERP system is expected to be fully implemented during 2027.

Early termination of contract - costs of $1.9m (2024: $nil) were recognised in respect of an early termination fee paid for one of the Group's contracts.

St. Louis fire - costs of $0.3m ($1.3m) were recognised in respect of the fire at the St. Louis plant which occurred in November 2024. These costs relate to the write off of items of property, plant and equipment that were damaged as a result of a fire.

Environmental provisions - charges of $0.5m (2024: $1.8m) were recognised in respect of the Group's environmental provision. The environmental provision is calculated on a discounted cash flow basis, reflecting the time period over which spending is estimated to take place. The movement in the provision relates to changes in discount rates, which have resulted in a reduction of $0.8m (2024: $2.2m), and extra remediation work identified in the year which has resulted in a $1.3m (2024: $4.0m) increase to the liability. Also included within adjusting items, within finance costs, is a charge of $1.1m in relation to the unwind of the discount on the provision.

Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition - amortisation of $8.2m (2024: $8.2m) has been recognised in relation to the Group's acquired intangible assets. As in previous years, these are included in adjusting items as they are a non-cash charge arising from historical investment activities.

Interest on EU state aid receivable - finance income of $1.2m (2024: $1.2m) has been recognised in respect of interest due to the Group.

Tax on adjusting items - this is the net impact of tax relating to the adjusting items listed above.

To support comparability with the financial statements as presented in 2025, a reconciliation to the adjusted consolidated income statement is shown below.

	2025			2024
	Profit and loss $m	Adjusting items $m	Adjusted profit and loss $m	Profit and loss $m	Adjusting items $m	Adjusted profit and loss $m
Revenue	597.5	-	597.5	603.8	-	603.8
Cost of sales	(317.4)	-	(317.4)	(314.2)	-	(314.2)
Gross profit	280.1	-	280.1	289.6	-	289.6
Distribution costs	(91.6)	-	(91.6)	(98.5)	-	(98.5)
Administrative expenses	(79.5)	17.7	(61.8)	(95.1)	23.2	(71.9)
Operating profit	109.0	17.7	126.7	96.0	23.2	119.2
Other expenses	(2.6)	-	(2.6)	(2.0)	-	(2.0)
Finance income	3.2	(1.2)	2.0	2.9	(1.2)	1.7
Finance costs	(19.7)	1.1	(18.6)	(22.6)	0.4	(22.2)
Profit before income tax	89.9	17.6	107.5	74.3	22.4	96.7
Tax	(27.6)	1.6	(26.0)	(25.5)	0.8	(24.7)
Profit from continuing operations	62.3	19.2	81.5	48.8	23.2	72.0
Earnings per share
From continuing operations
Basic earnings (cents)	10.7	3.3	14.0	8.3	3.9	12.2
Diluted earnings (cents)	10.5	3.2	13.7	8.1	3.9	12.0

 

To support comparability with the financial statements as presented in 2025, a reconciliation from operating profit/(loss) to adjusted operating profit/(loss) by segment is shown below for each year.

	2025					2024
	Coatings $m	Personal Care $m	Segment totals $m	Central costs $m	Total $m	Coatings $m	Personal Care $m	Segment totals $m	Central costs $m	Total $m
Operating profit/(loss)	64.7	63.4	128.1	(19.1)	109.0	73.5	49.3	122.8	(26.8)	96.0
Adjusting items:
Business transformation	-	0.8	0.8	6.7	7.5	0.5	4.2	4.7	2.1	6.8
Acquisitions and disposals	-	0.4	0.4	(6.8)	(6.4)	-	-	-	-	-
St. Louis operational transformation	3.5	-	3.5	-	3.5	-	-	-	-	-
Cloud and data transformation	-	-	-	2.2	2.2	-	-	-	2.1	2.1
Early termination of contract	1.9	-	1.9	-	1.9	-	-	-	-	-
St. Louis fire	0.3	-	0.3	-	0.3	1.3	-	1.3	-	1.3
Environmental provisions	-	-	-	0.5	0.5	-	-	-	1.8	1.8
Settlement of Brazil customs matter	-	-	-	-	-	3.0	-	3.0	-	3.0
Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition	-	8.2	8.2	-	8.2	0.1	8.1	8.2	-	8.2
Adjusted operating profit	70.4	72.8	143.2	(16.5)	126.7	78.4	61.6	140.0	(20.8)	119.2

6. Income tax expense

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Current tax:
UK corporation tax	26.4	12.9
Overseas corporation tax	2.3	7.6
Adjustments in respect of prior years:
United Kingdom	(0.6)	0.7
Overseas	1.2	0.2
Total current tax	29.3	21.4
Deferred tax:
United Kingdom	(0.1)	6.0
Overseas	(1.4)	(1.5)
Adjustment in respect of prior years:
United Kingdom	-	-
Overseas	(0.2)	(0.4)
Total deferred tax	(1.7)	4.1
Income tax expense for the year	27.6	25.5
Comprising:
Income tax expense for the year	27.6	25.5
Adjusting items1:
Overseas taxation on adjusting items	(7.4)	0.6
UK taxation on adjusting items	9.0	0.2
Taxation on adjusting items	1.6	0.8
Income tax expense for the year after adjusting items	26.0	24.7

1 See Note 5 for details of adjusting items.

The tax charge on profits represents an effective rate of 30.7% (2024: 34.3%) and an effective tax rate after adjusting items of 24.2% (2024: 25.5%).

The tax impact of the adjusting items outlined within Note 5 and within the consolidated income statement relates to the following:

	2025		2024
	Gross $m	Tax impact $m	Gross $m	Tax impact $m
Business transformation	7.5	1.5	6.6	1.7
Acquisitions and disposals	(6.4)	-	0.2	-
St. Louis operational transformation	3.5	0.7	-	-
Cloud and data transformation	2.2	0.5	2.1	0.6
Early termination of contract	1.9	0.4	-	-
St. Louis fire	0.3	0.1	1.3	0.3
Environmental provisions	0.5	0.1	1.8	-
Settlement of Brazil customs matter	-	-	3.0	-
Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition	8.2	2.4	8.2	2.5
Interest on EU state aid receivable	(1.2)	(0.3)	(1.2)	(0.3)
Unwind of discount on provision	1.1	0.2	0.4	0.1
Uncertain tax provisions	-	(7.2)	-	-
Derecognition of deferred tax asset regarding Eaglescliffe	-	-	-	(5.7)
Tax charge	17.6	(1.6)	22.4	(0.8)

The Group is international and has operations across a range of jurisdictions. Accordingly, tax charges of the Group in future periods will be affected by the profitability of operations in different jurisdictions and changes to tax rates and regulations in the jurisdictions within which the Group has operations. The Group's adjusted effective tax rate in 2025 is broadly in line with the prior year. The medium-term expectation for the Group's adjusted effective tax rate is around 25%.

The Group is below the revenue threshold for the Pillar 2 legislation to apply and therefore there is no impact on the financial statements.

The total charge for the year can be reconciled to the accounting profit as follows:

	2025		2024
	$m	%	$m	%
Profit before tax	89.9		74.3
Tax at 25% (2024: 25.0%)	22.5	25.0	18.6	25.0
Difference in overseas effective tax rates	0.6	0.7	(0.3)	(0.4)
Income not taxable	(2.2)	(2.4)	(2.8)	(3.8)
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes	6.0	6.7	3.2	4.3
Adjustments in respect of prior years	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5
Uncertain tax provisions2	5.1	5.6	-	-
Movement in unrecognised deferred tax1	(4.8)	(5.3)	6.4	8.7
Total charge and effective tax rate for the year	27.6	30.7	25.5	34.3

1 The current year movement in unrecognised deferred tax relates to foreign exchange losses brought into tax as a result of the settlement of loans previously regarded as quasi-equity. The prior year movement in unrecognised deferred tax relates to the derecognition of the deferred tax asset in respect of the Eaglescliffe environmental provision ahead of the disposal of the Eaglescliffe site to Flacks Group.

2 The uncertain tax provisions are the net of a provision of $10.8m made during the period in respect of an open HMRC tax audit and the reversal of a $5.7m provision in respect of a German Organschaft created in 2020.

 

9. Earnings per share

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the parent is based on the following:

Earnings:

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Adjusted earnings	81.5	72.0
Adjusting items net of tax	(19.2)	23.2
Earnings for the purpose of basic earnings per share	62.3	48.8
Loss from discontinued operations	(107.8)	(96.6)
Loss from continuing and discontinued operations	(45.5)	(47.8)

Number of shares:

	2025 m	2024 m
Weighted average number of shares for the purpose of basic earnings per share	583.6	588.9
Effect of dilutive share options	10.5	11.9
Weighted average number of shares for the purpose of diluted earnings per share	594.1	600.8

The dilutive loss from continuing and discontinued operations per share calculation, does not include the impact of the 10.5m dilutive share options (2024: 11.9m), as the inclusion of these potential shares would have an anti-dilutive impact on the diluted loss per share from continuing and discontinued operations; it would decrease the diluted loss per share from continuing and discontinued operations.

Earnings per share:

	2025 cents	2024 cents
Earnings per share from continuing operations:
Basic earnings	10.7	8.3
Diluted earnings	10.5	8.1
Adjusted basic earnings	14.0	12.2
Adjusted diluted earnings	13.7	12.0
Earnings per share from discontinued operations:
Basic loss from discontinued operations	(18.5)	(16.4)
Diluted loss from discontinued operations	(18.5)	(16.4)
Earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations:
Basic loss from continuing and discontinued operations	(7.8)	(8.1)
Diluted loss from continuing and discontinued operations	(7.8)	(8.1)

Adjusted basic earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations in 2024 was 13.6 cents per share and Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations in 2024 was 13.3 cents per share.

8. Contingent liabilities

As is the case with other chemical companies, the Group occasionally receives notice of litigation relating to regulatory and legal matters. A provision is recognised when the Group believes it has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation. Where it is deemed that an obligation is merely possible and that the probability of a material outflow is not remote, the Group would disclose a contingent liability.

During 2021 HM Revenue and Customs ("HMRC") opened a tax audit into the 2019 tax returns of certain UK Group entities, focused specifically on the tax-efficient financing structure set up in 2014. The Group has been working constructively with HMRC and will move to settle some aspects of the audit, reflected in the tax provision booked within the 2025 Annual Report and Accounts.

On other matters the Group continues to come to a different conclusion to HMRC, based on legal advice received, and will continue discussions. At this stage management have concluded that there is a possible obligation with an outcome ranging from $0m to $32.5m.

During Q4 2023, an environmental incident occurred at the Eaglescliffe site, which, following investigation during H1 2024, is likely to require additional remediation work at the site and could result in a fine from the relevant supervisory body. Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement with Flacks Group, signed in March 2025, Flacks Group are responsible for the cost of any remediation and associated fine. As the terms of the sale and purchase agreement state that Elementis must pay any amount due and then reclaim the amount from Flacks Group via the indemnity clause we have disclosed the event. Management have concluded at this stage that the obligation cannot be measured with sufficient reliability.

9. Related party transactions

The Company is a guarantor to the UK pension scheme under which it guarantees all current and future obligations of UK subsidiaries currently participating in the pension scheme to make payments to the scheme, up to a specified maximum amount. The maximum amount of the guarantee is that which is needed (at the time the guarantee is called on) to bring the scheme's funding level up to 105% of its liabilities, calculated in accordance with section 179 of the Pensions Act 2004. This is also sometimes known as a Pension Protection Fund ("PPF") guarantee, as having such a guarantee in place reduces the annual PPF levy on the scheme.

10. Events after the balance sheet date

On 3 March 2026, Elementis entered into a share purchase agreement to sell its pharmaceutical manufacturing business to Associated British Foods for an enterprise value of c.€34m (equivalent to c.$40m). Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in Q2 2026.

There were no significant events after the balance sheet date.

 

Alternative performance measures and unaudited information

Alternative performance measures

A reconciliation from reported profit for the year to adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Adjusted EBITDA) is provided to support understanding of the summarised cash flow included within the Finance Report.

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Loss for the year	(45.5)	(47.8)
Adjustments for:
Loss from discontinued operations	107.8	96.6
Finance income	(3.2)	(2.8)
Finance costs and other expenses	22.3	24.4
Tax charge	27.6	25.6
Adjusting items	17.7	23.2
Adjusted operating profit	126.7	119.2
Depreciation and amortisation	30.5	30.8
Excluding intangibles arising on acquisition	(8.2)	(8.2)
Adjusted EBITDA	149.0	141.8

There are also a number of key performance indicators ("KPIs") used in this report; the reconciliations to these are given below.

Constant currency

Constant currency is calculated by applying the prior year average local currency to USD translation rates to translate revenue and adjusted operating profit. Constant currency rates are determined as the reported rates excluding the impact of changes in the average translation exchange rates during the period.

Adjusted operating cash flow

Adjusted operating cash flow is defined as the net cash flow from operating activities less net capital expenditure but excluding income taxes paid or received, interest paid or received, loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment, movement in provisions and financial liabilities, pension contributions net of current service cost, share-based payment expense and adjusting items.

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Net cash flow from operating activities	74.2	100.0
Less:
Capital expenditure	(22.9)	(16.9)
Add:
Net cash flow used in operating activities from discontinued operations	(6.7)	(27.3)
Income tax paid or received	22.1	26.5
Interest paid	17.3	16.9
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment	0.8	0.9
Decrease/(increase) in provisions and financial liabilities	11.1	16.4
Pension contributions net of current service cost	2.3	0.6
Share-based payments expense	(6.9)	(6.1)
Cash adjusting items	22.3	29.0
Less: cash adjusting items included in adjustments above	(8.9)	(16.8)
Adjusted operating cash flow	104.7	123.2

 

Adjusted operating cash conversion

Adjusted operating cash conversion is defined as adjusted operating cash flow divided by adjusted operating profit.

	2025 $m	2024 $m
Adjusted operating profit	126.7	119.2
Adjusted operating cash flow	104.7	123.2
Adjusted operating cash conversion	83%	103%

Free cash flow

Free cash flow is defined as adjusted operating cash flow (as defined above), less pension contributions net of current service cost, net interest paid, income tax paid, cash flow relating to adjusting items and other, which includes share-based payments, movement in provisions and derivatives, and payment of lease liabilities.

Adjusted group profit before tax

Adjusted group profit before tax is defined as the adjusted profit for the year plus the tax on adjusting items.

Adjusted return on operating capital employed

Adjusted return on capital employed ("ROCE") is defined as adjusted operating profit from total operations divided by operating capital employed, expressed as a percentage. Operating capital employed comprises fixed assets (excluding goodwill but including tax recoverable), working capital and operating provisions. Operating provisions include self-insurance and environmental provisions but exclude retirement benefit obligations.

	2025 $m	20241 $m
Adjusted operating profit	126.7	119.2
Fixed assets excluding goodwill	301.7	301.5
Working capital	132.7	115.0
Operating provisions	(5.1)	(8.6)
Operating capital employed	429.3	407.9
Adjusted return on capital employed %	30%	29%

1   2024 has been represented following the sale of the Talc business.

Average trade working capital to sales ratio

The trade working capital to sales ratio is defined as the 12-month average trade working capital divided by sales, expressed as a percentage. Trade working capital comprises inventories, trade receivables (net of provisions) and trade payables. It specifically excludes repayments, capital or interest-related receivables or payables, changes due to currency movements and items classified as other receivables and other payables.

Adjusted operating profit/operating margin

Adjusted operating profit is the profit derived from the normal operations of the business. Adjusted operating margin is the ratio of adjusted operating profit to sales.

Net debt

Net debt is defined as borrowings less cash and cash equivalents, including any restricted or held for sale cash and cash equivalents. Pre-IFRS 16 Net debt does not include lease liabilities.

 

Net debt/EBITDA

To support a full understanding of the performance of the Group, the information below provides the calculations of Net debt/EBITDA.

	2025 $m	20241 $m
Revenue	597.5	603.8
Adjusted operating profit	126.7	119.2
Adjusted operating margin	21.2%	19.7%
Net Debt/EBITDA pre-IFRS 16
Adjusted EBITDA	149.0	141.8
IFRS 16 adjustment	(4.7)	(4.8)
Adjusted EBITDA pre-IFRS 16	144.3	137.0
Net Debt2	185.4	157.2
Net Debt/EBITDA3 pre-IFRS 16	1.3	1.1
Net Debt/EBITDA post-IFRS 16
Adjusted EBITDA	149.0	141.8
Net Debt2	185.4	157.2
IFRS 16 lease liabilities	20.4	27.2
Net Debt including lease liabilities	205.8	184.4
Net Debt/EBITDA2 post-IFRS 16	1.4	1.3

1 2024 has been re-presented following the sale of the Talc business.

2 Net debt excludes lease liabilities.

3 Net Debt/EBITDA, where EBITDA is the adjusted EBITDA on continuing operations of the Group.