Investing IdeasBrowse All StocksMarkets

Have your own idea? Try our Stock Screener

Header cover image

U.K. (FTSE) Materials Sector Analysis

UpdatedJan 17, 2025
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies162
  • 7D1.6%
  • 3M-2.8%
  • 1Y-1.1%
  • YTD2.9%

In the last week, the Materials industry is up 3.0%, with Rio Tinto Group up 2.6%. Despite this gain, the industry's performance has been flat over the past year. Earnings are forecast to grow by 24% annually.

Sector Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Materials Sector valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Fri, 17 Jan 2025UK£219.1bUK£303.6bUK£9.3b15x23.5x0.7x
Sun, 15 Dec 2024UK£218.7bUK£295.6bUK£9.1b16.1x24x0.7x
Tue, 12 Nov 2024UK£221.1bUK£293.1bUK£8.8b17.6x25.2x0.8x
Thu, 10 Oct 2024UK£229.1bUK£289.3bUK£8.7b18.2x26.4x0.8x
Sat, 07 Sep 2024UK£205.0bUK£287.9bUK£8.7b14.6x23.7x0.7x
Mon, 05 Aug 2024UK£224.4bUK£286.7bUK£12.6b14.8x17.9x0.8x
Wed, 03 Jul 2024UK£239.7bUK£289.8bUK£13.8b15.6x17.4x0.8x
Fri, 31 May 2024UK£250.6bUK£289.7bUK£13.6b17.4x18.4x0.9x
Sun, 28 Apr 2024UK£249.6bUK£296.0bUK£14.0b15.1x17.8x0.8x
Tue, 26 Mar 2024UK£223.3bUK£293.4bUK£14.0b12.4x15.9x0.8x
Thu, 22 Feb 2024UK£215.3bUK£303.7bUK£18.9b10.7x11.4x0.7x
Sat, 20 Jan 2024UK£232.1bUK£348.2bUK£29.3b10.3x7.9x0.7x
Mon, 18 Dec 2023UK£247.8bUK£348.7bUK£29.3b10.4x8.4x0.7x
Wed, 15 Nov 2023UK£238.3bUK£354.5bUK£29.7b10.1x8x0.7x
Fri, 13 Oct 2023UK£269.4bUK£388.9bUK£32.6b10.4x8.3x0.7x
Sun, 10 Sep 2023UK£258.9bUK£382.2bUK£32.2b10.3x8x0.7x
Tue, 08 Aug 2023UK£272.8bUK£395.2bUK£37.6b10x7.3x0.7x
Thu, 06 Jul 2023UK£269.9bUK£402.0bUK£43.6b9.8x6.2x0.7x
Sat, 03 Jun 2023UK£270.2bUK£407.9bUK£44.2b10.4x6.1x0.7x
Mon, 01 May 2023UK£276.4bUK£404.0bUK£43.9b10.3x6.3x0.7x
Wed, 29 Mar 2023UK£281.7bUK£410.6bUK£44.8b10x6.3x0.7x
Fri, 24 Feb 2023UK£304.2bUK£425.6bUK£52.9b10x5.8x0.7x
Sun, 22 Jan 2023UK£329.9bUK£406.4bUK£50.0b10x6.6x0.8x
Tue, 20 Dec 2022UK£299.8bUK£412.0bUK£50.6b9.1x5.9x0.7x
Thu, 17 Nov 2022UK£298.3bUK£420.2bUK£51.3b8.8x5.8x0.7x
Sat, 15 Oct 2022UK£367.6bUK£439.5bUK£53.6b7.9x6.9x0.8x
Mon, 12 Sep 2022UK£276.1bUK£428.3bUK£53.1b9.2x5.2x0.6x
Wed, 10 Aug 2022UK£282.4bUK£379.4bUK£42.6b10.2x6.6x0.7x
Fri, 08 Jul 2022UK£256.6bUK£371.4bUK£44.6b10.2x5.8x0.7x
Sun, 05 Jun 2022UK£313.3bUK£372.3bUK£45.3b11.5x6.9x0.8x
Tue, 03 May 2022UK£283.9bUK£348.6bUK£43.4b11.5x6.5x0.8x
Thu, 31 Mar 2022UK£319.2bUK£362.1bUK£52.1b11.3x6.1x0.9x
Sat, 26 Feb 2022UK£320.0bUK£351.3bUK£47.1b10.9x6.8x0.9x
Mon, 24 Jan 2022UK£359.3bUK£314.6bUK£43.9b13.2x8.2x1.1x
Price to Earnings Ratio

8.2x


Total Market Cap: UK£359.3bTotal Earnings: UK£43.9bTotal Revenue: UK£314.6bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Materials Sector Price to Earnings3Y Average 11.4x202320242025
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are optimistic on the British Materials industry, and appear confident in long term growth rates.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 23.3x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of 11.4x.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 0.79x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Materials industry have declined 40% per year over the last three years.
  • Meanwhile revenues have remained mostly flat.
  • This means that although sales have remained flat, either the cost of doing business or the level of investment back into businesses has increased, which has decreased profits.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.K. Materials sector?

GB Market0.96%
Materials1.60%
Packaging2.01%
Metals and Mining1.78%
Basic Materials1.64%
Paper and Forestry Products-0.14%
Chemicals-1.15%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Packaging industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 15.1x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 20.4%, which is higher than its past year's earnings decline of 51.6% per year.
  • Investors are most pessimistic about the Chemicals industry, which is trading below its 3-year average of 41.8x.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Basic Materials industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 26% over the next 5 years.
  • This is better than its past earnings decline of 11% per year.
  • In contrast, the Chemicals industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 16% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
RIO Rio Tinto GroupUK£49.322.6%
+UK£2.0b		-9.3%PE9.1x
GLEN GlencoreUK£3.701.2%
+UK£528.8m		-11.9%PS0.2x
AAL Anglo AmericanUK£24.600.8%
+UK£248.5m		37.7%PS1.2x
ANTO AntofagastaUK£17.381.2%
+UK£197.2m		9.2%PE27.4x
SMDS DS SmithUK£5.792.0%
+UK£158.7m		108.0%PE35.7x
Simply Wall St™
Simply Wall Street Pty Ltd
Level 7, 320 Pitt Street, Sydney
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
Popular Markets
USAUUKINCAZA
About UsCareersPlans & PricingLogin
Help CenterLatest CoveragePodcastsAffiliate ProgramBusiness & EnterpriseWhat's New
Financial Services GuideTerms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy
Simply Wall Street Pty Ltd (ACN 600 056 611), is a Corporate Authorised Representative (Authorised Representative Number: 467183) of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 337927). Any advice contained in this website is general advice only and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should not rely on any advice and/or information contained in this website and before making any investment decision we recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your situation and seek appropriate financial, taxation and legal advice. Please read our Financial Services Guide before deciding whether to obtain financial services from us.

Latest News

RIO

UK£49.32

Rio Tinto Group

7D

2.6%

1Y

-9.3%

GLEN

UK£3.70

Glencore

7D

1.2%

1Y

-11.9%

SMDS

UK£5.79

DS Smith

7D

2.0%

1Y

108.0%

ANTO

UK£17.38

Antofagasta

7D

1.2%

1Y

9.2%

CRDA

UK£32.04

Croda International

7D

-3.6%

1Y

-27.5%

ATYM

UK£3.57

Atalaya Mining Copper

7D

-4.2%

1Y

14.6%

PDL

UK£0.27

Petra Diamonds

7D

-14.6%

1Y

-55.5%

MSLH

UK£2.55

Marshalls

7D

-3.4%

1Y

-1.5%

SNOX

UK£0.76

SulNOx Group

7D

-17.4%

1Y

108.2%

AAL

UK£24.60

Anglo American

7D

0.8%

1Y

37.7%

RHIM

UK£34.10

RHI Magnesita

7D

4.0%

1Y

4.5%

RHI Magnesita N.V.'s (LON:RHIM) Earnings Are Not Doing Enough For Some Investors

Dec 24
RHI Magnesita N.V.'s (LON:RHIM) Earnings Are Not Doing Enough For Some Investors

HILS

UK£18.84

Hill & Smith

7D

2.8%

1Y

3.0%

Hill & Smith PLC (LON:HILS) Investors Are Less Pessimistic Than Expected

Dec 17
Hill & Smith PLC (LON:HILS) Investors Are Less Pessimistic Than Expected

FRES

UK£6.81

Fresnillo

7D

1.7%

1Y

41.0%

ALL

UK£0.13

Atlantic Lithium

7D

-5.3%

1Y

-40.6%

PRE

UK£0.24

Pensana

7D

-10.4%

1Y

17.1%

Does Pensana (LON:PRE) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Nov 13
Does Pensana (LON:PRE) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

FAR

UK£0.086

Ferro-Alloy Resources

7D

-13.6%

1Y

37.6%