James Cropper PLC on Tuesday said its annual profit has beat expectations.
Shares in James Cropper were up 30% at 344.60 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
The Cumbria, England-based paper, packaging and advanced materials manufacturer’s said it expects revenue for the year ended March 30 to be in line with expectations, but said profit was ‘slightly ahead’.
In financial 2023, adjusted pretax profit was £3.2 million.
‘The Advanced Materials business saw a year-on-year contraction in revenue, primarily reflecting the slowdown in fuel cell market demand. This was partially offset by growth in the hydrogen electrolyser business where, despite the delays to expected projects reported in January 2024, the business continued to acquire new customers through trials and specification development with electrolyser OEMs’, the company said.
Looking ahead, the firm said it expects a return to growth across both the Advanced Materials and Paper & Packaging businesses in financial 2025.
James Cropper will publish its full-year results in July.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Adams said: ‘I am pleased with the response from our whole organisation to the challenging trading environment over the second half of the year.Our priority has been a relentless focus on business development, leveraging our strong product and technology offer. We have addressed the drop in volumes by protecting our pricing, delivering continuous improvement in all our operations, driving down input costs and maintaining tight cost control.
‘As a group, we have remained steadfast in focusing on our strategy for accelerated growth and the board is confident that the growth prospects of the group, as a whole, remain significant in the coming year,’ he added.
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