Johnson Matthey to sell Catalyst Technologies to Honeywell for £1.8bn

(Sharecast News) - Chemicals firm Johnson Matthey said on Thursday that it has agreed to sell its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell for £1.8bn. In the announcement, which came alongside the company's full-year results, it said the deal was expected to deliver net proceeds of around £1.6bn, of which £1.4bn will be returned to shareholders after completion.

Johnson Matthey said that following the sale, it will be "repositioned as a highly streamlined group focused on Clean Air and PGMS, driving sustained strong cash generation to support attractive ongoing returns to shareholders".

Chief executive Liam Condon said the sale marked a "significant milestone" in the history of the company.

"This allows JM to realise a very attractive valuation for this business that fully reflects its strong long-term growth prospects," he said.

"We will now fundamentally re-shape Johnson Matthey into a more focused and leaner business. This will better position us to leverage our strong capabilities and leading market positions in Clean Air and PGM Services to drive a step change in sustainable cash generation with higher returns to shareholders. JM is a great company and we are confident that the actions we have announced today will deliver substantial and sustainable value to our shareholders."

News of the sale came alongside results for the year to the end of March 2025, which showed that pre-tax profit rose to £486m from £164m the year before, while revenue ticked down to £11.7bn from £12.8bn.

The company said full-year results were underpinned by a strong second half and were in line with guidance and market expectations, against challenging market headwinds.

"This resilient performance reflects the strength of our businesses and the strategic progress delivered, including cumulative benefits of £200 million from our 2021/22 to 2024/25 group transformation programme," said Condon.