(Correcting the pretax profit figures for financial 2022 and the prior year.)

Victrex PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in annual revenue, but one-off costs hit profit.

The Lancashire, England-based speciality chemicals firm reported a pretax profit of £87.7 million in the year ended September 30, down 5.2% from £92.5 million the year prior.

Before exceptional items, pretax profit increased 4.3% to £95.6 million from £91.7 million, however.

Victrex posted a £7.9 million hit from exceptional items, stemming from costs related to implementing a new software system.

Revenue grew 11% to £341.0 million from £306.3 million the year prior. This was driven by an 11% increase in Victrex’s Industrial revenue to £282.7 million from £255.2 million, following an improved sales mix and ‘greater’ commercialisation of its Aerospace composite business.

Victrex said Medical revenue also aided the overall revenue growth, rising 14% to £58.3 million from £51.1 million the year before.

Victrex declared a final dividend of 46.14 pence, unchanged from the year before. This brings Victrex’s total dividends for the year to 59.56p per share, down from 109.56p per share in financial 2021. Last year’s dividend includes a 50.0p per share special payout.

‘This was a record year for revenue and volume. We delivered good progress across the majority of our end-markets, new application growth and improved pricing, as we continue to recover cost inflation,’ Chief Executive Jakob Sigurdsson said.

‘Several end-markets are yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, and we continue to see good growth opportunities across the group.’

The CEO added: ‘However, we are mindful of the uncertain macroeconomic outlook for 2023 and some signs that Value Added Resellers volumes are edging down slightly, to more normalised levels. This means the opportunity to improve on last year’s record group volume is likely to be challenging.’

Sigurdsson added that Victrex faces further and ‘significant’ energy and raw material inflation, although additional pricing actions are in progress, with a timing lag.

Victrex shares closed down 4.1% at 1,709.00p on Tuesday in London.

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