Johnson Matthey dire as platinum demand falls

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The maker of catalytic converters posted a 5% fall profits to £249.4 million in the 12 months to the end of March and warned of further problems this year.

Shares in the firm tumbled nearly 5% or 60p to 1192p having traded at 2039p a year ago.

Johnson Matthey, which uses platinum to make vehicle catalysts as well as jewellery parts, said demand for catalytic converters was well down in the first half of the new financial year.

Chief executive Neil Carson said: "So far we have seen no real signs of improvement in demand for automotive products and we expect the group's sales will be down in our first half in comparison with a very strong performance in the same period last year."

Revenues were up from £7.5 billion to £7.8 billion despite the fall in demand and Carson said that prospects after next year "remain encouraging" because of environmental concerns and the new legislation on emissions that is expected to prompt.