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U.K. (FTSE) Chemicals Industry Analysis

UpdatedSep 23, 2025
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies20
  • 7D2.6%
  • 3M-2.6%
  • 1Y-15.2%
  • YTD-4.7%

The Chemicals industry is up 3.4% in the last week, with Croda International up 6.2%. However, the industry is down 14% over the past year. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 9.8% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Chemicals Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 23 Sep 2025UK£9.5bUK£16.7bUK£432.1m20.5x22.1x0.6x
Thu, 21 Aug 2025UK£9.3bUK£16.7bUK£432.2m22.6x21.5x0.6x
Sat, 19 Jul 2025UK£9.8bUK£16.8bUK£449.1m22.4x21.8x0.6x
Mon, 16 Jun 2025UK£9.8bUK£16.8bUK£450.0m22.3x21.7x0.6x
Wed, 14 May 2025UK£9.2bUK£17.1bUK£605.9m22.2x15.2x0.5x
Fri, 11 Apr 2025UK£8.0bUK£17.1bUK£591.8m18.7x13.5x0.5x
Sun, 09 Mar 2025UK£10.0bUK£17.1bUK£568.6m16.5x17.6x0.6x
Tue, 04 Feb 2025UK£10.2bUK£17.1bUK£577.1m17.6x17.6x0.6x
Thu, 02 Jan 2025UK£10.2bUK£17.1bUK£577.4m20.5x17.6x0.6x
Sat, 30 Nov 2024UK£10.1bUK£17.2bUK£591.2m19.5x17.1x0.6x
Mon, 28 Oct 2024UK£10.9bUK£18.2bUK£165.2m24.4x66.2x0.6x
Wed, 25 Sep 2024UK£11.6bUK£18.1bUK£158.6m24.4x73x0.6x
Fri, 23 Aug 2024UK£12.0bUK£18.1bUK£154.6m26.5x77.9x0.7x
Sun, 21 Jul 2024UK£12.3bUK£18.2bUK£193.2m29.8x63.7x0.7x
Tue, 18 Jun 2024UK£12.1bUK£18.2bUK£191.3m29.8x63.3x0.7x
Thu, 16 May 2024UK£14.1bUK£19.5bUK£255.3m31.4x55.1x0.7x
Sat, 13 Apr 2024UK£13.6bUK£19.6bUK£286.0m22.8x47.5x0.7x
Mon, 11 Mar 2024UK£13.0bUK£19.8bUK£188.2m18.3x69.3x0.7x
Wed, 07 Feb 2024UK£13.3bUK£20.0bUK£143.2m17.9x92.7x0.7x
Fri, 05 Jan 2024UK£13.1bUK£20.0bUK£140.6m19.2x93.1x0.7x
Sun, 03 Dec 2023UK£12.5bUK£20.0bUK£151.2m16.9x82.9x0.6x
Tue, 31 Oct 2023UK£12.0bUK£20.9bUK£256.8m16.6x46.6x0.6x
Thu, 28 Sep 2023UK£12.7bUK£20.8bUK£218.9m16.5x57.9x0.6x
Sat, 26 Aug 2023UK£13.7bUK£21.0bUK£354.6m24.5x38.5x0.7x
Mon, 24 Jul 2023UK£14.8bUK£21.2bUK£799.4m17.6x18.5x0.7x
Wed, 21 Jun 2023UK£14.0bUK£21.2bUK£802.4m14.1x17.5x0.7x
Fri, 19 May 2023UK£16.4bUK£21.2bUK£829.0m15.7x19.8x0.8x
Sun, 16 Apr 2023UK£17.3bUK£21.1bUK£835.3m16.2x20.7x0.8x
Tue, 14 Mar 2023UK£16.7bUK£21.9bUK£993.9m16.2x16.8x0.8x
Thu, 09 Feb 2023UK£18.9bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b18.2x17.1x0.9x
Sat, 07 Jan 2023UK£17.7bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b16.5x16.1x0.8x
Mon, 05 Dec 2022UK£18.3bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b17.9x16.5x0.8x
Wed, 02 Nov 2022UK£17.2bUK£23.2bUK£937.4m22.7x18.3x0.7x
Fri, 30 Sep 2022UK£16.0bUK£23.2bUK£973.4m20.7x16.4x0.7x
Price to Earnings Ratio

16.4x


Total Market Cap: UK£16.0bTotal Earnings: UK£973.4mTotal Revenue: UK£23.2bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Chemicals Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 40.6x202320242025
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the British Chemicals industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 22.2x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 40.6x.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 0.69x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Chemicals industry have declined 24% per year over the last three years,
  • Revenues have also declined 10% per year.
  • This means overall sales from these companies are declining and profits are subsequently falling as well.

Industry Trends

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

GB Market-0.48%
Materials2.37%
Chemicals2.60%
Industrial Gases11.58%
Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals4.68%
Commodity Chemicals3.13%
Specialty Chemicals2.50%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Commodity Chemicals industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 44.4x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 41.1%, which is lower than the prior year's growth of 686.9% per year.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Commodity Chemicals industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 41% over the next 5 years.
  • In contrast, the Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 8.4% 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
CRDA Croda InternationalUK£26.736.2%
+UK£217.8m		-32.5%PE26.7x
ESNT EssentraUK£1.068.0%
+UK£22.2m		-28.6%PE32.1x
JMAT Johnson MattheyUK£19.280.7%
+UK£21.8m		31.1%PE8.7x
SYNT SynthomerUK£0.7012.0%
+UK£12.3m		-68.4%PS0.06x
HEX Helix ExplorationUK£0.2913.7%
+UK£6.5m		30.0%PB4.2x

Latest News

EDEN
UK£0.025
Eden Research
7D
-15.0%
1Y
-36.3%
CRDA
UK£26.73
Croda International
7D
6.2%
1Y
-32.5%

Croda International Plc's (LON:CRDA) P/E Is On The Mark

Sep 18
Croda International Plc's (LON:CRDA) P/E Is On The Mark
ITX
UK£1.05
Itaconix
7D
-16.0%
1Y
-28.3%
TET
UK£2.73
Treatt
7D
3.4%
1Y
-36.4%
SNOX
UK£0.41
SulNOx Group
7D
-1.2%
1Y
9.3%
ZTF
UK£3.78
Zotefoams
7D
-2.3%
1Y
-11.3%
HEX
UK£0.29
Helix Exploration
7D
13.7%
1Y
30.0%
JMAT
UK£19.28
Johnson Matthey
7D
0.7%
1Y
31.1%

Are Investors Undervaluing Johnson Matthey Plc (LON:JMAT) By 42%?

Aug 12
Are Investors Undervaluing Johnson Matthey Plc (LON:JMAT) By 42%?
ELM
UK£1.62
Elementis
7D
-1.0%
1Y
0.4%
User avatar

Specialty Additives And Asia Expansion Will Unlock New Markets

Strategic focus on specialty additives, sustainability, and innovation enhances competitive positioning and supports revenue and margin growth through premium products.
ESNT
UK£1.06
Essentra
7D
8.0%
1Y
-28.6%

We Think You Should Be Aware Of Some Concerning Factors In Essentra's (LON:ESNT) Earnings

Aug 08
We Think You Should Be Aware Of Some Concerning Factors In Essentra's (LON:ESNT) Earnings
SYNT
UK£0.70
Synthomer
7D
12.0%
1Y
-68.4%

Sustainable Specialty Polymers Will Unlock New Global Opportunities

Despite a notable upgrade in revenue growth forecasts and a reduction in the forward P/E, Synthomer's consensus analyst price target has been revised down from £1.71 to £1.57. Valuation Changes Summary of Valuation Changes for Synthomer The Consensus Analyst Price Target has fallen from £1.71 to £1.57.
VCT
UK£7.01
Victrex
7D
-4.5%
1Y
-24.3%
IOF
UK£0.23
Iofina
7D
-3.3%
1Y
13.2%

Iofina plc's (LON:IOF) Shareholders Might Be Looking For Exit

Jul 18
Iofina plc's (LON:IOF) Shareholders Might Be Looking For Exit
SYM
UK£0.083
Symphony Environmental Technologies
7D
-15.4%
1Y
157.8%
ATOM
UK£0.67
Atome
7D
15.7%
1Y
-20.8%
HAYD
UK£0.0057
Haydale Graphene Industries
7D
3.6%
1Y
90.0%

Health Check: How Prudently Does Haydale Graphene Industries (LON:HAYD) Use Debt?

Jun 12
Health Check: How Prudently Does Haydale Graphene Industries (LON:HAYD) Use Debt?