Croda International (LON:CRDA) reported 6.6% organic sales growth in the third quarter of 2026, led by strong demand for beauty ingredients, and maintained its full-year outlook despite weakness in Crop Protection.
Chief Executive Steve Foots said Consumer Care sales rose 11% organically, with increases in volume, price and mix. Beauty Actives grew 19% and Beauty Care rose 13%, supported by customer product launches, demand for innovation and strength in premium categories.
The company continues to expect full-year organic sales growth within its 3% to 6% range and a further increase in group adjusted operating margin. Its expectations for adjusted operating profit also remain unchanged.
Foots said third-quarter exit rates were consistent with those at the start of the period, and that the company was seeing similar trends in October. Croda expects demand trends to continue in the fourth quarter, although absolute sales are typically lower than in the third as some customers manage working capital at year-end.
Beauty leads Consumer Care growth
Foots attributed the performance in Beauty Actives partly to a concentration of customer launches that continued from the second quarter. He also cited growth in premium products, increased innovation by both Croda and its customers, and efforts to gain share in more affordable categories.
Beauty Actives recorded its fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit organic sales growth. Foots cautioned that comparisons would become tougher next year and said investors should not expect 19% growth every quarter.
Home Care sales rose 10%, while fragrances and flavours grew 4% against a strong prior-year comparison. Foots said the latter business faced Middle East-related disruption in a small part of its operations and temporary interruptions to China sales as production moved to a new facility. He expects a stronger fourth quarter with the facility fully online.
Asia was the strongest region, with every business unit delivering organic growth. Foots described growth across the region as broad-based, citing contributions from China, India, Japan and Korea.
Crop weakness offsets Pharma and Seed growth
Life Sciences sales rose 2% organically, with absolute sales improving sequentially. Pharma grew 5%, supported by Pharma Ingredients and a sequential improvement in Pharma Solutions as the timing of project-driven revenue became more favorable. Seed Enhancement grew 12%.
Those gains more than offset a 9% decline in Crop Protection, where demand remained weak and farm incomes were under pressure. Foots said the decline was concentrated in the Americas, including Brazil and North America, and came against a quarter in 2025 when Crop Protection grew 19%.
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Oxley said Crop Protection prices rose, while volumes fell. Foots said agricultural commodity prices had recently improved, which could support farm economics in 2027, although he did not expect an effect in the fourth quarter.
Industrial Specialties sales declined 1% organically as growth in the core business was offset by an anticipated reduction in supply agreement sales. Foots said the agreement ends in the middle of 2027, but Croda expects to continue supplying beyond that point. He said the associated Cargill sales were moderating toward a stable level.
Cost savings and capital allocation
Croda had delivered £46 million in cumulative transformation savings by the end of June, Foots said. The company remains on track for £100 million in annualized benefits and a £50 million reduction in working capital by full-year 2028. Oxley said Croda also remained on track for its 2028 framework, including a 20% margin.
Asked why Croda had not raised its profit expectations despite sales growth, Oxley pointed to the difficult Crop Protection environment and continuing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. He said the company was confident in its guidance.
Oxley said Croda remains committed to maintaining its dividend, although the current payout is above its policy range of 40% to 50%. Leverage was around 1.2 to 1.3 times, he said, adding that the company has consistently said it would not reduce leverage below one time. Croda plans to provide a further capital allocation update with its full-year results in February.
On costs, Oxley said raw materials were up approximately 2.5% year over year in the third quarter, mainly driven by petrochemical inputs. Croda expects raw material costs to be broadly flat from the third to the fourth quarter, but higher than a year earlier, and is seeking to pass increases on to customers.
About Croda International (LON:CRDA)
Founded in 1925 with the aim of turning bio-based raw materials into innovative ingredients, Croda International is a speciality chemicals company focused on consumer care and life sciences markets. The company is focused on creating, making and selling innovative ingredients that deliver real benefits to a diverse range of customers and employs more than 6,000 people around the world. Sustainability is a core part of the Groups strategy with a commitment to be Climate, Land and People positive by 2030.
