Shares of Blackpool-based high performance polymer company Victrex fell as much as 4% after it published a trading update for its AGM and its first quarter from October 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.
Victrex shares are down more than 30% for the past 12 months.
Revenue for the quarter fell 6% to £62.4 million compared to the same period in the prior year.
Victrex operates in the Automotive, Aerospace, Energy & Industrial, Electronics and Medical markets.
“Q1 (3 months ended 31 December 2025) volumes reduced by 4%, reflecting growth in Energy & Industrial offset by a more subdued performance in Transport, Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Medical … ” said Victrex.
“Performance in H1 2026 is expected to be weaker than H1 2025, reflecting the weaker end to Q1 and the currency headwind being weighted to the first half …
“In our Sustainable Solutions business, Energy & Industrial continues to perform well as activity levels remain healthy within this end market. Whilst VARs saw a slower start in Q1, momentum improved at the start of Q2. YTD volumes in VARs are now ahead of the prior year.
“Medical revenues remain slightly below the prior year on a YTD basis, with January seeing the normal seasonal improvement over Q1.”
Victrex CEO James Routh said: “The start of FY 2026 reflected usual Q1 seasonality, alongside a subdued performance across some end-markets. On a year to date basis, our second quarter started solidly, with YTD volumes now in line with the prior year.
“Whilst we continue to be mindful of wider macroeconomic conditions, our full year guidance remains unchanged. As previously communicated, performance will be weighted to the second half. The first half is expected to be weaker than the prior year.
“At this early stage of my tenure, I have been impressed with our innovation know-how, our breadth of growth opportunities and the passion of our talented people to rapidly adapt and improve our financial performance.
“FY 2026 will be a transitional year, with our Profit Improvement Plan helping us become a more efficient, growth focused and performance oriented company.
“By further differentiating our business and creating a more agile and customer-focused organisation, we will unlock Victrex’s potential and better position the company for sustainable growth over the medium to longer term.”