Shares in Blackpool-based specialty chemical-maker Victrex (VCT) touched 10-year lows last week after the firm said trading in its markets remained tough and it would take a sustained upturn in its medical division to meet its annual profit target.

The FTSE 250 supplier of high-performance polymers has been facing de-stocking by its medical customers along with lower utilisation rates at its plants which creates negative operating leverage, while at the same time currency rates are starting to move against it.

The firm, whose financial year ends in September, said it had seen ‘recent signs of improvement in several end-markets’ in its third quarter to the end of June, making growth prospects more encouraging.

However, it added that without an improvement in the medical business ‘the opportunity to deliver a slightly better pretax profit performance in the second half versus H2 2023 - in line with our previous guidance - will be challenging’.

The company left its volume forecast for the year unchanged after an increase of 20% in the third quarter, as well as maintaining its forecasts for inventories and capital spending.

Most analysts had already cut their current-year earnings forecast sharply after the half-year results in March and on the strength of the latest update more downgrades may be in the works. 

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