Victrex plc (LON:VCT), is an innovative world leader in high performance polymers, delivering sustainable products which enable environmental and societal benefit. This announcement covers interim results (unaudited) for the 6 months ended 31 March 2025.
| H1 2025 | H1 2024 | % change (reported) | % change(constant currency1) | |
| Group sales volume | 2,018 tonnes | 1,737 tonnes | +16% | N/A |
| Group revenue | £145.9m | £139.3m | +5% | +8% |
| Average selling price (ASP) | £72.3/kg | £80.2/kg | -10% | -7% |
| Gross profit | £64.3m | £66.8m | -4% | +3% |
| Gross margin | 44.1% | 48.0% | -390bps | N/A |
| Underlying profit before tax (PBT)1 | £23.2m | £28.0m | -17% | flat |
| Reported PBT | £17.2m | £3.3m | +421% | N/A |
| Underlying EPS1 | 22.6p | 27.0p | -16% | N/A |
| EPS | 17.4p | 3.1p | +461% | N/A |
| Dividend per share | 13.42p | 13.42p | flat | N/A |
Highlights:
• Volumes +16%, driven by VARs; first 2,000 tonne half-year since H2 2022
– H1 2025 Group sales volume 2,018 tonnes; up 16% vs prior year (Q2 up 14% vs Q2 24)
· VARs +30% & Transport down 2% (Aero +7%, Automotive down 4%)
· Electronics +17% and Energy & Industrial +15%
– H1 2025 Group revenue £145.9m, up 5% vs H1 2024 & up 8% in constant FX
– Medical (implantable & non-implantable) flat at £30.2m; growth in all non-Spine segments
– ASP £72.3/kg, impacted by sales mix (driven by VAR volumes) & FX
• Underlying PBT flat in constant FX; held back by sales mix & China ramp-up
– H1 2025 Underlying PBT down 17% at £23.2m (H1 2024: £28.0m), flat in constant currency
– H1 2025 Reported PBT £17.2m after £6.0m exceptional items (ERP costs & Project Vista)
– FY 2025 currency headwind weighted to H1 (£5m FX impact in H1 at PBT level)
– H1 2025 GM 44.1% due to mix, slower China ramp-up & FX; despite improved asset utilisation
• Driving operational improvement through self-help actions
– Strong cost control: overheads2 broadly flat ex wage inflation & employee reward accrual
– Project Vista ‘Go to Market’ approach: driving sales excellence in Sustainable Solutions
– Enhanced Medical structure: targeting new application growth in non-implantable/pharma
– New ERP system launched; enabling enhanced digital solutions & ‘cost to serve’ opportunities
• Major milestone for ‘Magma’ mega-programme
– TechnipFMC contract award from Petrobras; supporting scale-up for ‘Magma’ (composite pipe solution for energy industry based on VictrexTM PEEK)
• Further improvement in cash generation
– Improved underlying operating cash conversion1 of 128% (H1 2024: 64%)
– H1 2025 net debt £40.7m (H1 2024: £49.8m) (including cash of £25.4m after payment of FY 2024 final dividend (H1 2024: £28.5m))
– Further inventory reduction; £12.3m YoY reduction to £114.4m (H1 2024: £126.7m)
– Lower cash capital expenditure at £8.6m (H1 2024: £21.8m) after investment phase completed
– Interim dividend maintained at 13.42p/share
1 Alternative performance measures are defined in note 13
2 Underlying operating overheads1
STRONG FOUNDATIONS – IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS – NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY
Commenting on the results, Jakob Sigurdsson, Chief Executive of Victrex, said:
H1 volumes up 16%: softer mix
“With sales volumes up 16%, Sustainable Solutions saw good year on year and sequential improvement across most end-markets. VARs was the key driver of volume growth, impacting sales mix. Like for like pricing, excluding sales mix and currency, was robust across our end-markets outside of VARs.
“Medical revenues were broadly flat due to ongoing inventory management amongst major medical device companies and some lingering impact from Volume Based Pricing (VBP) in China, primarily in Spine. Pleasingly, we saw good growth in all segments outside of Spine, with non-Spine growing above the levels of our record year for Medical in FY 2023. However, visibility remains low on the speed of broader Medical recovery and its benefit for our second half. We continue to monitor for recovery on a customer by customer basis. In non-implantable Medical, including pharmaceutical applications, we now have several new opportunities.
Driving operational improvement
“Cost control remains strong, with underlying operating overheads broadly flat excluding wage inflation. With strong foundations in place following completion of our recent asset investments and upgrades, we are also taking a number of improvement actions to help underpin near-term profitability and navigate a clearer pathway towards growth. These include Project Vista, which is driving an improved Go to Market strategy, supporting good progress in our Sustainable Solutions business. Procurement efficiency is also a key area of focus.
Gross margin and PBT impacted by FX, sales mix and China operational challenges
“Gross margin & underlying PBT was lower, impacted by a sizeable FX headwind of £5m in the first half, a subdued performance in Medical and adverse sales mix. Our China facility contributed £4m to the reduction in profit year-over-year, more than anticipated as it experienced initial operational challenges. We have actions in place to support operational improvement in H2, with other headwinds also expected to ease.
Key milestone for ‘Magma’
“We remain on track to deliver a step-up in our mega-programme revenues this year. The key milestone in H1 was a technological order from Petrobras to TechnipFMC, supporting scale-up for ‘Magma’ – a composite pipe for the energy industry – with an uptick in Victrex volumes expected from FY 2026, and sizeable long-term volumes thereafter.
Outlook – upgrading volume guidance; Medical, FX & China headwinds to H2 PBT growth
“Macroeconomic uncertainty is likely to continue for the remainder of FY 2025. Whilst the majority of Victrex’s product portfolio is currently exempt from incremental US tariffs, we are mindful of the potential impact on global sales demand. Volume momentum remains positive and we are slightly upgrading our volume guidance to high-single digit volume growth for the full year, reflecting the volume strength seen in H1.
“We are targeting a substantial improvement in H2 PBT compared to H1. This is supported by the typical second-half weighting of profits, as well as the current volume momentum driven by Sustainable Solutions. In Medical, we expect continued growth in non-Spine, and we are monitoring closely for signs of improvement in Spine. Operational improvement in our China manufacturing facility is progressing, however, the full year profit headwind will be higher than previous guidance. These factors, and other previously guided headwinds, including FX, will constrain PBT growth for H2, compared to H2 2024, though we expect these to ease into the next financial year. Given macro-uncertainty, together with the effects noted, we have a range of outcomes for full year profit. For H2, our target is to deliver PBT similar to H2 2024, driving some PBT growth in constant currency on a full year basis.
“Victrex has a strong and diversified core business, supported by improvement actions, well-invested assets, increasing mega-programme commercialisation, and the opportunity for continued cashflow improvement.”
