Johnson Matthey third-quarter sales dip, sees restricted growth opportunities

Johnson Matthey (JMAT.L), the world's biggest car catalyst maker, according a small call third-quarter sales on Wed and aforesaid robust market conditions can limit its short growth opportunities.

Johnson Matthey, that conjointly refines and recycles atomic number 78 cluster metals, aforesaid cluster sales for the quarter to finish December totalled 736 million pounds, down from 745 million a year earlier.

Excluding contributions from its Gold and Silver refinement and analysis Chemicals businesses, that are sold , sales for the quarter were up three %.

"Looking ahead, the difficult political economy conditions, that have worsened slightly since our half-year ends up in Nov, square measure expected to limit the group's short growth opportunities," the corporate aforesaid in a very statement.

Johnson Matthey, that makes most of its profits from the sale of platinum-rich catalysts for automotive emission-control devices, has benefited in recent years from tighter European regulation on emissions, boosting demand for additional added catalysts.

But as a result of difficult conditions in many key markets, Johnson Matthey started a restructuring review last year, significantly in its method Technology division, that sells catalysts and technologies to the oil and organic compound sector.

The restructuring, that concerned job cuts, was expected to chop prices by around thirty million pounds annually.

"We ought to see 1 / 4 of the annual savings return through in our fourth quarter, the present quarter we have a tendency to square measure in," Finance Director Den Jones told Reuters.

Investor attitudes towards atomic number 78, that is especially utilized in diesel autocatalysts, were hit heavily this year by the Volkswagen emissions scandal.