Elementis plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategic Report
2 Elementis at a glance
4 Chair’s statement
6 Our business model
7 Our competitive advantage
8 How we create value
9 Chief Executive
Officer’s review
12 Investment case
13 Market drivers providing
tailwinds
15 Strategy at a glance
16 Strategy in action
22 Key performance indicators
24 Stakeholder engagement
26 Section 172
28 Sustainability
29 Foreword
30 Materiality
31 Governance
32 Strategy
34 Environment
44 People
51 Responsible business
55 Non-financial
information statement
56 Finance report
62 Operating review
65 Risk management
70 Principal risks and uncertainties
75 Viability and going
concern statement
Corporate Governance
76 Chair’s introduction to
governance
77 Board of Directors
80 Division of responsibilities
81 Board in action
84 Workforce engagement
86 Purpose, culture and values
87 Board performance review
88 Nomination Committee report
92 Audit Committee report
97 Compliance statement
101 Directors’ Remuneration report
130 Directors’ report
133 Directors’ responsibilities
Financial Statements
134 Independent Auditor’s report
142 Consolidated
income statement
142 Consolidated statement of
comprehensive income
143 Consolidated balance sheet
144 Consolidated statement of
changes in equity
145 Consolidated cash
flow statement
146 Notes to the consolidated
financial statements
186 Company balance sheet
187 Company statement of
changes in equity
188 Notes to the company
financial statements of
Elementis plc
192 Alternative performance
measures and
unaudited information
194 Five-year record
Shareholder Information
195 Notes on ESG reporting
methodologies
196 Environmental data
199 Shareholder services
200 Corporate information
201 GRI index
203 SASB index
204 Glossary
In this report
Chair’s statement
Finance report
Operating review:
Personal Care
Read more on pages 4-5.
Read more on pages 28-54.
CEO’s review
Operating review:
Performance Specialties
Sustainability
Read more on pages 56-61.
Read more on page 62.
Read more on pages 9-11.
Read more on pages 63-64.
Powder coating additives, as shown on the front cover, are very important for the powder coatings industry, a key growth market for Elementis.
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Cautionary statement The Annual Report and Accounts for the financial year ended
31 December 2024, as contained in this document (“Annual Report”), contains information
which viewers or readers might consider to be forward-looking statements relating to or
in respect of the financial condition, results, operations or businesses of Elementis plc.
Any such statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and
circumstances. There are many factors that could cause actual results or developments to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by any such forward-looking statements.
Nothing in this Annual Report should be construed as a profit forecast.
Revenue
$738.3m
2023: $713.4m
Adjusted operating profit
$128.8m
2023: $103.9m
Adjusted
operating margin
17.4%
2023: 14.6%
Operating (loss)/profit
$(26.6)m
2023: $58.9m
(Loss)/profit before tax
$(49.6)m
2023: $39.7m
Diluted (loss)/earnings
per share
(8.1)c
2023: 4.7c
Adjusted diluted
earnings per share
13.3c
2023: 10.8c
Dividend per share
4.0c
2023: 2.1c
1 Refer to explanations and definitions, including alternative performance measures, on pages 22-23 and 192-193.
Total recordable
injury rate
0.18
2023: 0.33
Scope 1 and 2
GHG emissions
77kt CO
2
e
2023: 65kt CO
2
e
Women in
leadership
42.1%
2023: 37.3%
Non-financial highlights
Financial highlights
1
Elementis is a global specialty
chemicals company.
We offer performance-driven additives
that help create innovative formulations
for consumer and industrial applications.
At Elementis, we bring a distinctive
combination of expertise, innovation and
teamwork to every formulation challenge.
We create high-value specialty additives
that enhance the performance of our
customers’ products and make a positive
change in the world.
Our purpose
Unique chemistry, sustainable solutions
Read more about how our purpose guides our strategy, culture and values on
pages 3, 15-21, 44-50 and 86.
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 1
A global footprint
Key
Office Laboratory Manufacturing
1 Pre-central costs.
2 We have two sites in Taiwan 1 km from each other.
Elementis at a glance
Our businesses
What we do
c.1,200
employees
23
locations worldwide
FTSE 250
constituent
Two
focused businesses
Performance
Specialties
Performance Specialties comprises Coatings and Talc.
Coatings supplies rheology modifiers and complementary
specialty additives to manufacturers of industrial coatings,
decorative paints, additives for oil and gas drilling, stimulation
fluids and adhesives and sealants. Our products help make
industrial coatings last longer, decorative paints more stain
resistant and sealants apply more evenly.
We also supply talc to customers in a wide range of sectors,
including automotive, plastics, paper, paint and agriculture.
Revenue
$521m
% of Group adjusted
operating profit
1
58%
Adjusted operating
margin
17%
Personal Care
We are a leading supplier of rheology modifiers, with focus on
natural ingredients and antiperspirant actives. We offer a wide
range of products to customers across personal care, home care,
industrial cleaning, agriculture and pharma. Our products help
make skin creams smoother, antiperspirants work longer, home
care products more natural and plant protection products
more efficient.
Revenue
$217m
% of Group adjusted
operating profit
1
42%
Adjusted operating
margin
28%
Asia
22%
of Group
revenues
33%
of employees
7
locations
2
Europe
41%
of Group
revenues
41%
of employees
8
locations
2
Americas
37%
of Group
revenues
26%
of employees
8
locations
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 2
We are purpose led
Unique chemistry,
sustainable solutions.
Our culture
Our supportive culture is the
catalyst to successful delivery
of our strategy.
Our strategy
The right strategy is important
to deliver business growth.
Our approach to sustainability
We are committed to conducting
business with integrity and to fair
and ethical behaviour throughout
our organisation.
…enabling us to create
value for our stakeholders
Customers
Employees
Suppliers
Communities and
environment
Investors
Government, trade bodies
and regulators
Our values are core to
our high-performance culture
Our strategy ensures we
continue to deliver long-term,
sustainable growth…
Safety
Our commitment to safety is our
way of life.
Solutions
We make a difference through
our expertise, responsiveness
and focus on quality.
Ambition
We have a passion for excellence
and a drive to create value.
Respect
We do the right thing for all
our stakeholders.
Team
We work, grow and succeed together.
Innovation
We are a global leader in
performance-driven additives that
help create innovative solutions
for our customers. Leveraging our
capabilities in rheology, surface
chemistry and formulation, we
help our customers create better
products.
Growth
Our two businesses operate in
attractive markets with structural
growth opportunities, supported by
clear market and industry trends.
Efficiency
We constantly seek to be a
fit-for-purpose and more efficient
business, agile and growing, with
ourimpact on the environment and
the communities in which we operate
at the forefront of our minds.
Read more about how we engage with,
and create value for, our stakeholders on
pages 24-26.
Read more about our strategy on pages 15-21. Read more about our culture and values on
pages 44-50 and 86.
The foundation of Elementis
Sustainability flows through
every aspect of our organisation
It underpins our strategy, allowing us to unlock value, provide better outcomes for our stakeholders and
deliver on our purpose. Our sustainability strategy is based on a three-pillar framework.
Responsible business
PeopleEnvironment
Read more about our approach to sustainability and our sustainability strategy on pages 28-54.
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 3
Elementis at a glance
Thanks to the commitment and
tenacity of our exceptional people,
Elementis delivered another
strong performance in 2024 and
made good progress against our
2023 Capital Market Day objectives.
Overview
I am pleased to report a strong business and
financial performance for 2024, reflecting our
commitment to our updated strategy and
associated targets, all achieved despite an
ongoing challenging global economic climate.
It has been an eventful year, in which we
successfully completed large organisational
efficiency improvement, initiated a strategic
review of the Talc business unit and announced
a Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) succession.
Our innovation and customer initiatives position
the Group to further capitalise on the exciting
global growth opportunities which we see.
Balance sheet and shareholder returns
Elementis remains a highly cash-generative
business, as demonstrated by further
deleveraging over the year. Net debt reduced
to $157 million at year end, supported by higher
earnings. As a result, the net debt to EBITDA
ratio reduced to 1.0x (2023: 1.4x).
The Board, in light of the strength of the balance
sheet, is recommending a final dividend of
2.9 cents per share to shareholders at the
upcoming Annual General Meeting (“AGM”),
resulting in a full-year dividend of 4.0 cents
per share (2023: 2.1 cents). This is in line with
the dividend policy announced last year with
a payout ratio of around 30% of adjusted
earnings. The final dividend will be paid on
30 May 2025 in pounds sterling at an exchange
rate of £1.00:$1.2693 (equivalent to a sterling
amount of 2.28 pence per share) to
shareholders on the register at 2 May 2025.
We continue to focus on improving shareholder
returns, while maintaining balance sheet
flexibility and strength. We shall consider future
returns of excess capital to our shareholders,
as the opportunity arises, in line with the Group’s
capital allocation framework.
Our strategy
The three strategic pillars of Innovation, Growth
and Efficiency provide a strong foundation for
continued growth. At the 2023 Capital Markets
Day (“CMD”), we announced new ambitious
growth and efficiency programmes through
to 2026, which will accelerate top-line
performance while also enhancing operating
margins. I am pleased with the strong progress
made in the first year, getting closer to our
2026 financial targets. We expect these
initiatives to deliver further revenue and profit
growth in 2025.
This year has not been without some
disappointments and challenges. The regulatory
developments relating to Talc were a surprise to
the company and indeed to the European talc
industry at large. In 2024, we reported two
impairment charges within the business totalling
$126 million. The first one was triggered by an
underperformance due to a nationwide strike
in Finland in the first quarter, and the second
followed the recent recommendation by the Risk
Assessment Committee (“RAC”) of the
European Chemicals Agency (“ECHA”) to
reclassify talc as carcinogenic. Elementis
disagrees with the RAC’s opinion and, together
with EUROTALC, will seek to demonstrate that
the proposed classification for carcinogenicity
is not appropriate. The Talc strategic review,
announced in August 2024, is progressing and
we will provide further update in due course.
Our strategy is underpinned by ambitious
sustainability objectives, focused on creating
innovative specialty additives that enhance
the performance of our customers’ products
and make a positive change in the world.
Chair’s statement
John O’Higgins
Chair
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 4
This goes hand in hand with our goal of ensuring
Elementis continues to reduce its greenhouse
gas (“GHG”) emissions in line with our ambition
of Net Zero by 2050.
The journey to decarbonisation is not expected
to be linear. Despite this year’s increase in
absolute emissions, we continued to make
good progress on our broader sustainability
objectives, including switching our energy
and raw materials supplies from fossil fuels to
renewable sources and improving the safety and
sustainability profile of our products. This year,
we developed a science-based target (“SBT”)
for GHG emission reductions. I am pleased to
report, that our SBT was recently approved by
the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”).
Our people and culture
I would like to thank all our employees for their
commitment and contribution to the delivery of
this year’s strong performance. It is particularly
pertinent as we complete the Fit for the Future
organisational restructuring, saying goodbye
to many of our colleagues over the year.
We also welcomed over 100 new colleagues
in our new Porto office this year. Their energy
and strive for excellence are a great fit with
our high-performance culture, focused on
understanding and supporting the needs
of our customers.
We place significant importance on ensuring
the safety and wellbeing of all employees, and
we performed strongly in this area, with two
recordable injuries and a significant reduction in
the total recordable incident rate (“TRIR”) in
2024. We have also made good progress
against our objective of creating a more diverse
and inclusive organisation, increasing the
proportion of senior female leaders across our
business to 42%. For additional diversity
disclosures, including for the Directors, see
pages 47-48 and 90-91 of this report.
Section 172(1)
statement
The Board of Directors confirms that
during the year ended 31 December
2024, it has acted to promote the
long-term success of Elementis for
the benefit of its shareholders, while
having due regard to the matters
set out in section 172(1) of the
Companies Act 2006, being:
(a) the likely consequences of any
decision in the long term;
(b) the interests of the Company’s
employees;
(c) the need to foster the Company’s
business relationships with suppliers,
customers and others;
(d) the impact of the Company’s
operations on the community and
the environment;
(e) the desirability of the Company
maintaining a reputation for high
standards of business conduct; and
(f) the need to act fairly between
members of the Company.
Details of the Board’s engagement with key
stakeholders and key decisions taken over
the year are included on pages 26-27.
Further details of the Board’s activities are
described in the Governance report on
pages 81-85.
The Board is committed to a high level of
employee engagement, welcoming opportunities
to meet with our colleagues in many of our
locations over the year. Employee engagement
is further encouraged and monitored via the
biannual employee survey process. This allows
us to regularly engage with our people and
provide relevant and timely support and training
throughout the year. You can read more about
the results of the Gallup employee survey on
pages 48-50.
Governance and Board
Early in the year, we welcomed Maria Ciliberti
and Heejae Chae to the Board as Non-Executive
Directors. Maria brings a strong and current
global operational experience in the chemical
industry and Heejae brings experience in both
his executive and non-executive roles.
In November 2024, we announced that
Paul Waterman will be leaving Elementis in
2025. Paul, who has served as CEO since 2016,
will not be seeking re-election at the next AGM.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Paul
for his service and commitment to Elementis
during that tenure and for his significant
contribution and leadership in developing the
culture and values of the Group today. He leaves
the business in a strong position.
In March 2025, we announced the appointment
of Luc van Ravenstein as the new CEO of
Elementis, succeeding Paul Waterman. Since
joining Elementis in 2012, Luc has led the
Personal Care, Coatings and more recently the
Performance Specialties businesses. He was
instrumental to the Coatings transformation
programme in 2020, significantly improving the
quality and performance of this business. He will
assume the role of the CEO on 29 April 2025,
subject to confirmation by shareholders at the
2025 AGM.
On 1 January 2025, we welcomed Christopher
Mills to the Board as a Non-Executive Director.
Christopher is a CEO of Harwood Capital
Management, a shareholder of Elementis.
We look forward to benefitting from his track
record of generating value for all shareholders.
Shareholder engagement
In 2024, the Senior Independent Director (“SID”),
Trudy Schoolenberg, and I had many
opportunities to meet with our shareholders
and discuss a broad range of topics. This year,
the discussions focused on the updated
strategy and the Group financial targets, CEO
succession and investor activism. Shareholders
were also keen to discuss potential sale of the
Talc business, considering the recently
announced talc reclassification, as well as other
new initiatives to narrow the gap between the
share price and the Company’s intrinsic value.
The Board regularly receives feedback from
shareholders and considers it in its decision-
making. We believe that the progress on the
efficiency and growth programmes delivered this
year, alongside our disciplined capital allocation
approach, demonstrate our commitment to
improving shareholder returns over time.
Looking ahead
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank
all our employees for their enthusiasm and
outstanding customer service, contributing to
this year’s strong performance. We are saying
goodbye to Paul, who has led this business over
the past nine years, and welcome Luc, as we
embark on an exciting new phase for Elementis.
I am confident that under Luc’s leadership,
Elementis will continue to grow and deliver
long-term sustainable value for all our
stakeholders.
John O’Higgins
Chair
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 5
Chair’s statement
Read more about Personal Care on pages 62 and 15-21.
Personal Care
Read more about Coatings and Talc on pages 63-64 and 15-21.
Performance Specialties
We operate globally via two focused businesses
Our business
model
Elementis is a
business-to-business
specialty chemicals
company, offering
performance-driven
additives for
consumer and
industrial applications.
Skin Care
We offer a broad selection of natural and naturally-derived ingredients,
facilitating the development of natural skin care products, while providing
exceptional texture, great sensory properties and long-lasting stability.
Our understanding of regional market demands and ongoing innovations
in natural rheology enables us to deliver sustainable solutions for
water-based systems and continue to expand our share of the global
skin care sector.
Colour Cosmetics
As the market leader in oil-based rheology modification, we offer a wide
range of solutions and technologies that help formulate make-up products
with vibrant colour and excellent sensory properties.
Antiperspirants
As a leader in antiperspirant actives, we cater to consumer needs with
effective and sustainable solutions. Our customers value our supply
resilience, driven by our global production footprint. We are the leading
industry innovators, responding to consumer trends for high-performance
actives that ensure long-lasting sweat and odour protection.
Key markets and our positioning
Colour cosmetic and skin care rheology leader; global antiperspirant
actives leader.
We also supply specialty ingredients to customers across home care and
institutional cleaning, agriculture and pharma industries.
Competitive advantage
Innovation and
formulation
leadership
Customised
rheology modifiers
Active ingredients
High-quality
hectorite resource
Global reach
Coatings
We supply rheology modifiers and other complementary specialty
additives to manufacturers of industrial coatings, decorative paints,
additives for oil and gas drilling and simulation fluids, adhesives and
sealants. Our products help make industrial coatings last longer,
decorative paints more stain resistant and sealants apply evenly.
Talc
We have a well-established mine-to-market model, supplying diversified
end markets. We use proprietary flotation technology, which produces
consistent talc purity and allows customisation. Our talc makes long-life
plastics stronger and lighter, gasoline particulate filters work, and food
packaging recyclable.
Key markets and our positioning
Architectural and industrial coatings; auto plastics; global rheology
additives leader; leader in high-end speciality talc.
We also supply specialty additives for adhesives, sealants and
construction applications.
Competitive advantage
Innovation and
formulation
leadership
Rheology modifiers
and additives
High-quality
hectorite resource
High-performance
talc
Our scientists are experts in rheology and
formulation solutions. They create innovative
solutions that help solve our customers’ toughest
formulation challenges.
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 6
Our business model: What we do Our competitive advantage How we create value
Premium assets
We own the only high-grade
hectorite mine in the world.
Hectorite is a natural mineral
that delivers excellent rheology
in both water- and oil-based
systems, making it an attractive
alternative to synthetic materials.
It can be processed at lower
temperatures, leading to lower
costs and improved sustainability.
It also delivers important
attributes, such as excellent
texture and colour for Personal
Care and long-term stability for
Performance Specialties
applications.
We have four talc mines in
Finland and use proprietary
flotation technology, which
enables production of high-purity
talc. We supply talc products to
customers across a range of
end-applications, including
plastics, paint, paper and
technical ceramics.
>50 years
of estimated hectorite
resource life
Engaged and skilled
people, with
unparalleled expertise
in rheology and
formulation solutions
Our people are fundamental
to the continued success of
our business. We have a skilled
and engaged global workforce,
and we place great focus on
recognising and valuing their
contributions and the expertise
they share.
Formulation solutions
We are experts at formulation
solutions – the process of
optimising formulation ingredients
to achieve the desired
functionality and performance
of the final product.
Rheology
Rheology is essential to the
performance of a formulation –
it makes the ingredients work
together.
~100
scientists working in seven
laboratories across four
continents
Customer-centric,
with global reach
Our global footprint allows us to