British chemicals firm Croda stockpiling, reviewing ports ahead of Brexit

[BENGALURU] Speciality chemicals maker Croda International Plc said on Tuesday it had made changes to its trading model in Europe and was stockpiling goods in continental Europe as it prepares for Britain's impending exit from the European Union.

The company - which counts Unilever Plc, Procter & Gamble Co, L'Oreal SA as customers - also reported pretax profit for the full year that missed estimates.

Croda's shares were down 3.8 per cent to 4,870 pence at 0817 GMT and were among the top losers on the UK bluechip index .

The company - which logs 96 per cent of sales and 80 per cent of production outside the UK - said it was reviewing which ports could be used for moving its products and has full EU recognition for the imports and exports.

Croda also said it was re-registering UK products sold in the EU to ensure compliance, mainly with the EU's Reach programme, which requires companies to register the substances used in production.

Reach registrations in the UK may no longer be valid for sale of products in the EU, although the UK government has confirmed that EU-held Reach registrations will continue to be valid in the short term for products coming to the UK.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 and Prime Minister Theresa May is yet to secure parliamentary approval for a divorce deal agreed with the EU last year, increasing the chances of a disorderly exit from the bloc.

Croda, which announced a special dividend of 115 pence per share, on Tuesday said an orderly transition of the UK out of the EU is expected to be manageable for the company.

Adjusted profit before tax rose 3.5 per cent to 331.85 million pounds (S$588.92 million), but missed analysts average estimate of 332.84 million pounds, according Refinitiv IBES.

REUTERS