1. Home
2. Supplier Database
3. Major Suppliers
4. Johnson Matthey Plc
5. Johnson Matthey Plc Business Report FY ended Mar. 2015

Johnson Matthey Plc Business Report FY ended Mar. 2015

Factors
1) Emission Control Technologies
-The Company's Emission Control Technologies division had revenue of GBP 3,321.4 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 14.6% over the previous year.

<LDV catalysts>
-Sales of LDV catalysts increased by 5% over the previous year to GBP 1,058 million. This increase was triggered by the introduction of Euro 6b legislation in Europe and by strong vehicle production volumes in China.

<HDD catalysts>
-Sales of HDD catalysts increased by 14% over the previous fiscal year to GBP 724 million. Sales had improved across all regions with significant contributions coming from a strengthening truck market in the U.S., and new legislation in Europe and Asia.

2) Precious Metal Products
-In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, the Company's Precious Metal Products division had revenue of GBP 5,690.2 million, a decrease of 21.4% from the previous year. The decrease in revenue was caused primarily by a change in contracts with Anglo Platinum, which increased the Company's cost to acquire platinum, thus hurting its Precious Metal Management business unit. Other factors included lower average precious metal prices, and weakness in certain markets.

<Noble Metals>
-Sales in the Noble Metals business unit decreased by 4% from the previous year to GBP 133 million. Lower sales in industrial products contributed to the decline.

<Advanced Glass Technologies>
-The Advanced Glass Technologies business unit's sales decreased by 5% to GBP 82 million. This was partly due to its exit from the decorative ceramics color products market. Demand for black obscuration enamels and silver pastes in automotive glass applications remained steady for the fiscal year ended in March 31, 2015.

3) New Businesses
-The Company's New Businesses division had sales of GBP 92.2 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 20.4% over the previous year.

<Battery Technologies>
-The Battery Technologies business unit had sales of GBP 84 million, an increase of 23% from the previous year. The increase in sales was due primarily to higher demand for battery systems used in power tools and e-bikes, though sales of battery systems to the automotive sector also made gains.

<Fuel Cells>
-Sales for the Fuel Cells business unit decreased slightly from the previous year to GBP 6 million, due to the bankruptcy of a customer for membrane electrode assemblies in the first half of the year.

Acquisitions

-The Company announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the battery materials business of Clariant AG for USD 75 million. The transaction covers all of the assets of Clariant's Energy Storage business including its manufacturing facility in Candiac, Quebec, an R&D center and pilot plant in Moosburg, Germany together with its customer order book. The business employs approximately 100 people and is a leading supplier of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material to the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery sector for both automotive and non-automotive applications. The transaction was completed in February 2015. (From a press release on October 29, 2014)

-On June 2014, the Company agreed to purchase specific battery material manufacturing assets from A123 Systems LLC for USD 26 million. The primary asset of the acquisition is A123's cathode material manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China which employs approximately 80 people. The agreement also includes a long term stipulation in which the Company will supply all of A123's lithium ion phosphate requirements. A123 retains ownership of its intellectual property in battery materials while the Company will produce A123's Nanophosphate formulation of LFP exclusively for A123. The transaction was completed in October 2014. (From a press release on October 7, 2014)

Recent Development outside U.K.

<India>
-The Company announced that it has produced its 25 millionth autocatalyst at its plant in Manesar, India. The Company has been manufacturing emission control catalysts in India for over fifteen years. (From a press release on October 28, 2014)

Outlook

-The Company expects that its results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016 will be slightly improved compared to the results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.

-The Emission Control Technologies division is expected to have high single digit sales growth for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. Factors that are expected to contribute to this growth include Euro 6b legislation in September 2015, and continued vehicle production growth in China. Demand for HDD catalysts in large trucks is also expected to continue to grow.

-Sales in the Precious Metal Products are expected to decline due to the divestiture of non-automotive related businesses and difficult trading conditions for platinum group metal. However, the division's manufacturing business units are expected to remain stable in comparison to the previous fiscal year.

-The New Businesses division is expected to benefit from the acquisitions made in the Battery Technologies business unit during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. The Company expects that the division's losses will be reduced in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016.

R&D Structure

-The Company has approximately 1,600 employees working in research and development.

-The Company has increased its testing capabilities for its Emission Control Technologies components in the U.K., China and Japan.

R&D Facilities

-The Emission Control Technologies division has R&D facilities in the following eight countries:

• Brazil
• China
• Germany
• Japan
• Korea
• Sweden
• U.K.
• U.S.

-The Battery Technologies business unit has R&D facilities dedicated towards battery materials in the U.K., Germany, and Singapore.

-The Fuel Cells business unit has R&D capability in Sonning Common, U.K.

Investment in U.K.

Emission Control Technologies
-One of the main projects that the Company invested in during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 was the addition of autocatalyst manufacturing capacity in Europe. This was done to meet growing demand in response to new legislation standards for both light duty and heavy duty vehicles.

-In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, the Company continued work in expanding its filter production capacity in the U.K.

Investment Outside U.K.

Emission Control Technologies
<Macedonia>
-During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, the Company completed the expansion to its catalyst manufacturing facility in Macedonia. The additional capacity will be used to meet customer demand due to the new European regulations that will be introduced in the future.

<China>
-The Company continued investing to expand its production capacity in China.

Outlook

-The Company expects to invest approximately GBP 280 million per year in capital expenditures during the next few years.