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U.K. (FTSE) Chemicals Industry Analysis

UpdatedAug 20, 2025
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies21
  • 7D2.9%
  • 3M1.7%
  • 1Y-19.1%
  • YTD-7.5%

In the last week, the Chemicals industry is up 2.9%, with Croda International leading the way, up 3.5%. In the same time, Helix Exploration was down 8.0%. In the past year, the industry is down 19%. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 9.5% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

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

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Wed, 20 Aug 2025UK£9.3bUK£16.7bUK£430.9m23.1x21.5x0.6x
Fri, 18 Jul 2025UK£9.8bUK£16.8bUK£449.1m22.2x21.9x0.6x
Sun, 15 Jun 2025UK£9.8bUK£16.8bUK£450.0m22.3x21.7x0.6x
Tue, 13 May 2025UK£9.2bUK£17.1bUK£593.5m20.4x15.4x0.5x
Thu, 10 Apr 2025UK£7.9bUK£17.1bUK£591.3m18.2x13.4x0.5x
Sat, 08 Mar 2025UK£10.0bUK£17.1bUK£568.6m16.5x17.6x0.6x
Mon, 03 Feb 2025UK£10.2bUK£17.1bUK£577.1m17.8x17.6x0.6x
Wed, 01 Jan 2025UK£10.2bUK£17.1bUK£577.8m20.5x17.6x0.6x
Fri, 29 Nov 2024UK£10.0bUK£17.2bUK£591.2m19.4x17x0.6x
Sun, 27 Oct 2024UK£10.9bUK£18.2bUK£165.2m24.4x66.2x0.6x
Tue, 24 Sep 2024UK£11.4bUK£18.1bUK£153.3m24x74.5x0.6x
Thu, 22 Aug 2024UK£12.0bUK£18.1bUK£154.6m26.6x77.8x0.7x
Sat, 20 Jul 2024UK£12.5bUK£18.2bUK£193.2m29.8x64.6x0.7x
Mon, 17 Jun 2024UK£12.2bUK£18.2bUK£191.3m29.4x63.8x0.7x
Wed, 15 May 2024UK£14.0bUK£19.5bUK£254.9m32.1x54.7x0.7x
Fri, 12 Apr 2024UK£13.6bUK£19.6bUK£286.0m22.4x47.5x0.7x
Sun, 10 Mar 2024UK£13.0bUK£19.8bUK£188.2m18.3x69.3x0.7x
Tue, 06 Feb 2024UK£13.2bUK£20.0bUK£142.8m17.6x92.6x0.7x
Thu, 04 Jan 2024UK£13.4bUK£20.0bUK£140.1m19.2x95.6x0.7x
Sat, 02 Dec 2023UK£12.5bUK£20.0bUK£151.0m16.9x83.1x0.6x
Mon, 30 Oct 2023UK£11.9bUK£20.9bUK£256.5m16.4x46.4x0.6x
Wed, 27 Sep 2023UK£12.9bUK£20.8bUK£219.5m16.7x58.6x0.6x
Fri, 25 Aug 2023UK£13.7bUK£21.0bUK£355.2m24.6x38.7x0.7x
Sun, 23 Jul 2023UK£14.8bUK£21.2bUK£799.4m17.6x18.5x0.7x
Tue, 20 Jun 2023UK£14.1bUK£21.2bUK£802.7m14.2x17.6x0.7x
Thu, 18 May 2023UK£16.4bUK£21.2bUK£829.3m16x19.7x0.8x
Sat, 15 Apr 2023UK£17.3bUK£21.1bUK£835.3m16.2x20.7x0.8x
Mon, 13 Mar 2023UK£17.1bUK£21.9bUK£992.4m16.6x17.2x0.8x
Wed, 08 Feb 2023UK£19.0bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b18.1x17.3x0.9x
Fri, 06 Jan 2023UK£17.5bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b16.3x15.9x0.8x
Sun, 04 Dec 2022UK£18.3bUK£22.0bUK£1.1b17.9x16.5x0.8x
Tue, 01 Nov 2022UK£17.1bUK£23.2bUK£937.7m22.5x18.3x0.7x
Thu, 29 Sep 2022UK£16.7bUK£23.2bUK£972.6m21.3x17.2x0.7x
Sat, 27 Aug 2022UK£18.0bUK£23.2bUK£985.1m21.3x18.3x0.8x
Price to Earnings Ratio

18.3x


Total Market Cap: UK£18.0bTotal Earnings: UK£985.1mTotal Revenue: UK£23.2bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Chemicals Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 40.5x202320242025
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 21.5x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 40.5x.
  • 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-0.14%
Materials-1.68%
Chemicals2.94%
Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals4.21%
Commodity Chemicals3.19%
Specialty Chemicals3.00%
Industrial Gases-8.06%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Commodity Chemicals industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 44.8x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 47.1%, 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 47% over the next 5 years.
  • In contrast, the Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals industry is expected to see its earnings decline by 4.2% 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£25.373.5%
+UK£120.0m		-34.3%PE25.3x
JMAT Johnson MattheyUK£18.604.0%
+UK£119.0m		17.4%PE8.4x
VCT VictrexUK£7.032.0%
+UK£12.2m		-29.1%PE20.6x
ZTF ZotefoamsUK£4.284.6%
+UK£9.3m		-8.5%PE292.9x
ESNT EssentraUK£1.042.4%
+UK£6.7m		-40.0%PE31.5x

Latest News

GEX
UK£0.051
Georgina Energy
7D
-8.9%
1Y
-54.5%
HEX
UK£0.26
Helix Exploration
7D
-8.0%
1Y
15.0%
CRDA
UK£25.37
Croda International
7D
3.5%
1Y
-34.3%

Here's Why Croda International (LON:CRDA) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

Aug 15
Here's Why Croda International (LON:CRDA) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
SVNS
UK£0.0031
Solvonis Therapeutics
7D
-17.6%
1Y
64.9%
ZTF
UK£4.28
Zotefoams
7D
4.6%
1Y
-8.5%

Zotefoams plc (LON:ZTF) Soars 29% But It's A Story Of Risk Vs Reward

Aug 13
Zotefoams plc (LON:ZTF) Soars 29% But It's A Story Of Risk Vs Reward
JMAT
UK£18.60
Johnson Matthey
7D
4.0%
1Y
17.4%

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

Aug 12
Are Investors Undervaluing Johnson Matthey Plc (LON:JMAT) By 42%?
ESNT
UK£1.04
Essentra
7D
2.4%
1Y
-40.0%

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£0.65
Synthomer
7D
1.7%
1Y
-71.6%

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.
TET
UK£2.16
Treatt
7D
-1.4%
1Y
-52.0%

Need To Know: Analysts Just Made A Substantial Cut To Their Treatt plc (LON:TET) Estimates

Aug 02
Need To Know: Analysts Just Made A Substantial Cut To Their Treatt plc (LON:TET) Estimates
VCT
UK£7.03
Victrex
7D
2.0%
1Y
-29.1%
IOF
UK£0.26
Iofina
7D
4.0%
1Y
26.8%

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£0.11
Symphony Environmental Technologies
7D
-6.4%
1Y
388.9%
VRS
UK£0.0001
Versarien
7D
-9.1%
1Y
-87.5%
ATOM
UK£0.49
Atome
7D
5.3%
1Y
-40.7%
KRPZ
UK£0.0055
Kropz
7D
-15.4%
1Y
-62.1%