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U.K. (FTSE) Chemicals Industry Analysis

UpdatedAug 11, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies18
  • 7D4.7%
  • 3M14.4%
  • 1Y26.0%
  • YTD11.8%

Over the last 7 days, the Chemicals industry has risen 5.0%, driven by gains from Johnson Matthey of 10%. Meanwhile, Zotefoams actually underperformed within the industry, shrinking 6.1% in the last week. In the last 12 months, the industry was up 24%. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 31% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

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

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Tue, 11 Aug 2026UK£11.0bUK£17.4b-UK£88,338,058.9019.9x-124.6x0.6x
Thu, 09 Jul 2026UK£9.6bUK£17.3b-UK£139,751,126.6518.5x-68.7x0.6x
Sat, 06 Jun 2026UK£10.2bUK£17.5b-UK£136,557,467.6625.5x-74.6x0.6x
Mon, 04 May 2026UK£10.0bUK£16.6b-UK£96,139,559.0922.4x-104.2x0.6x
Wed, 01 Apr 2026UK£9.4bUK£16.7b-UK£19,720,211.1118.1x-476.8x0.6x
Fri, 27 Feb 2026UK£10.3bUK£16.8b-UK£112,045,033.3228.5x-91.9x0.6x
Sun, 25 Jan 2026UK£10.5bUK£16.8b-UK£37,619,721.1226.3x-278.2x0.6x
Tue, 23 Dec 2025UK£10.0bUK£16.8b-UK£29,861,873.7220.5x-335.9x0.6x
Thu, 20 Nov 2025UK£9.7bUK£16.8bUK£422.8m17.6x22.8x0.6x
Sat, 18 Oct 2025UK£10.1bUK£16.8bUK£424.1m18.9x23.8x0.6x
Mon, 15 Sep 2025UK£9.3bUK£16.7bUK£430.8m21.8x21.5x0.6x
Wed, 13 Aug 2025UK£9.0bUK£16.7bUK£430.9m22.2x20.9x0.5x
Fri, 11 Jul 2025UK£10.1bUK£16.8bUK£449.6m21.7x22.6x0.6x
Sun, 08 Jun 2025UK£9.7bUK£16.8bUK£448.0m23.4x21.6x0.6x
Tue, 06 May 2025UK£8.9bUK£17.1bUK£594.1m19.6x14.9x0.5x
Thu, 03 Apr 2025UK£8.9bUK£17.1bUK£591.9m19.9x15x0.5x
Sat, 01 Mar 2025UK£9.8bUK£17.1bUK£578.0m16.9x17x0.6x
Mon, 27 Jan 2025UK£9.9bUK£17.1bUK£577.2m17.7x17.1x0.6x
Wed, 25 Dec 2024UK£10.2bUK£17.1bUK£577.7m21.5x17.7x0.6x
Fri, 22 Nov 2024UK£10.4bUK£18.1bUK£170.0m23x60.9x0.6x
Sun, 20 Oct 2024UK£11.0bUK£18.1bUK£165.4m24.8x66.7x0.6x
Tue, 17 Sep 2024UK£11.8bUK£18.1bUK£153.6m25.8x76.5x0.6x
Thu, 15 Aug 2024UK£11.7bUK£18.2bUK£150.5m26x77.6x0.6x
Sat, 13 Jul 2024UK£12.5bUK£18.2bUK£189.7m30.5x65.7x0.7x
Mon, 10 Jun 2024UK£12.9bUK£18.2bUK£191.3m31.6x67.3x0.7x
Wed, 08 May 2024UK£13.9bUK£19.6bUK£285.9m24.7x48.8x0.7x
Fri, 05 Apr 2024UK£13.5bUK£19.5bUK£274.7m21x49.1x0.7x
Sun, 03 Mar 2024UK£13.1bUK£19.8bUK£121.7m17.3x107.8x0.7x
Tue, 30 Jan 2024UK£13.0bUK£20.0bUK£140.8m18.3x92.4x0.7x
Thu, 28 Dec 2023UK£13.8bUK£20.0bUK£141.2m19.6x97.6x0.7x
Sat, 25 Nov 2023UK£12.7bUK£20.0bUK£152.9m17.1x82.8x0.6x
Mon, 23 Oct 2023UK£11.6bUK£20.9bUK£257.2m16.1x45.3x0.6x
Wed, 20 Sep 2023UK£13.0bUK£20.8bUK£222.0m22.6x58.4x0.6x
Fri, 18 Aug 2023UK£13.7bUK£21.0bUK£356.3m25.8x38.4x0.7x
Price to Earnings Ratio

38.4x


Total Market Cap: UK£13.7bTotal Earnings: UK£356.3mTotal Revenue: UK£21.0bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Chemicals Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average -19.6x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are relatively neutral on the British Chemicals industry at the moment, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates to remain steady.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 0.61x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • Total earnings for the Chemicals industry have declined over the last three years, with the industry now making a loss overall.
  • Revenues have also declined 5.9% per year, which is driving profits down.

Industry Trends

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

GB Market0.54%
Materials7.46%
Chemicals4.74%
Industrial Gases17.97%
Specialty Chemicals4.94%
Commodity Chemicals0.088%
Fertilizers and Agricultural Chemicals-1.27%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Commodity Chemicals industry even though it's trading below its 3-year average PE ratio of 32.1x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 32.3%, which is lower than the prior year's growth of 1,646.6% per year.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Commodity Chemicals industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 32% over the next 5 years.
  • In contrast, the Industrial Gases industry is expected to see its earnings decline by 56% 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
JMAT Johnson MattheyUK£21.8010.1%
+UK£317.3m		23.5%PS0.3x
CRDA Croda InternationalUK£32.921.5%
+UK£70.0m		32.8%PE57.9x
ELM ElementisUK£1.864.8%
+UK£48.9m		11.2%PE19.9x
SYNT SynthomerUK£1.1226.3%
+UK£38.4m		88.6%PS0.1x
VCT VictrexUK£8.192.9%
+UK£20.0m		20.3%PS2.4x

Latest News

ZTF
UK£4.39
Zotefoams
7D
-6.1%
1Y
18.2%
JMAT
UK£21.80
Johnson Matthey
7D
10.1%
1Y
23.5%
SYNT
UK£1.12
Synthomer
7D
26.3%
1Y
88.6%
Analysis Article • Aug 08

Analysts Have Lowered Expectations For Synthomer plc (LON:SYNT) After Its Latest Results

Shareholders will be ecstatic, with their stake up 39% over the past week following Synthomer plc 's ( LON:SYNT...
GEX
UK£0.15
Georgina Energy
7D
14.0%
1Y
145.0%
HEX
UK£0.29
Helix Exploration
7D
19.8%
1Y
-2.2%
EDEN
UK£0.025
Eden Research
7D
-3.9%
1Y
-25.8%
ESNT
UK£1.12
Essentra
7D
5.1%
1Y
11.9%
ELM
UK£1.86
Elementis
7D
4.8%
1Y
11.2%
CRDA
UK£32.92
Croda International
7D
1.5%
1Y
32.8%
CAR
UK£0.39
Carclo
7D
-1.3%
1Y
-17.7%
VCT
UK£8.19
Victrex
7D
2.9%
1Y
20.3%
HDD
UK£0.98
Hardide
7D
-7.5%
1Y
1,171.0%
ITX
UK£1.73
Itaconix
7D
-2.8%
1Y
35.3%
IOF
UK£0.53
Iofina
7D
-4.0%
1Y
111.2%