Elementis plc, a global specialty chemicals company, has released its third quarter trading update for the period ending September 30, 2023. The company reported a resilient performance in line with expectations, despite challenging market conditions. Revenue for the quarter was at a similar level to the previous two quarters, but down 5% compared to the same period last year. The decrease in revenue was attributed to lower revenues across both business segments. Elementis remains focused on self-help actions, including new business opportunities, price management, and cost discipline.
In terms of business segments, Personal Care sales were stable compared to the previous quarter but below the strong performance of the prior year. However, there was continued strong growth in Asia. Performance Specialties also delivered a resilient performance, with market-related volume weakness in Coatings and Talc partially offset by pricing and mix benefits. Coatings sales were stable compared to the previous quarter but below the prior year, with modest improvement seen in Asia. Talc benefited from self-help actions, resulting in higher profit compared to the weak prior year period. Elementis continues to focus on financial turnaround and pursuing new business opportunities in the Talc segment.
Despite ongoing weakness in underlying macro-economic conditions, Elementis is well positioned to deliver full-year financial performance in line with expectations. The company is on track to reduce leverage, supported by continued inventory improvement in the third quarter. Paul Waterman, CEO of Elementis, highlighted the company's focus on product innovation, customer relationships, and cost discipline. He also mentioned that Elementis is now a focused specialty chemicals business following the sale of Chromium earlier this year. The company will provide more details about its go-forward strategy at the upcoming Capital Markets Day on November 14th.