Johnson Matthey share price: Den Jones named as new finance director

Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) today announced that Den Jones will join the board as group finance director from June 5, succeeding Robert MacLeod who was promoted to the role of chief executive last month.

Johnson Matthey’s share price was up 1.6 percent at 3,229p as of 13:00 UTC, valuing the specialty chemicals and precious metals group at £6.62 billion. This compared with a 0.79 percent rise in the Basic Materials Sector and the same rate of increase in the benchmark FTSE 100 index.

Johnson Matthey group said in today’s statement that Jones, 48, has 13 years of experience at UK-based oil and gas company BG Group, where he held senior roles until his departure in November last year. At BG Group, he was acting chief financial officer from September 2012.

From February 2013 he was interim chief financial officer and executive director. Before joining BG Group, he worked at Citibank and PwC where he held a number of specialist financial management positions. Jones is a management science graduate and a qualified chartered accountant.

Macleod will succeed Neil Carson as chief executive from June 5.

Commenting on the appointment of Jones, MacLeod said that his experience of working in BG Group “complements Johnson Matthey's business and will enable him to make an immediate contribution".

Company applies for renewal of US production licence for six controlled substances

Johnson Matthey has asked the US to renew its licence for the production of six active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) including amphetamine, hydrocodone and sufentanil, at its plant in Devens, Massachusetts.

According to a notice of application with the Drug Enforcement Administration published in the US Federal Register on February 4, the company plans to utilise the production facility to manufacture small quantities of the listed controlled substances in bulk for distribution to its customers, and to conduct analytical testing in support of its primary manufacturing facility in West Deptford, New Jersey.

Several days earlier a Johnson Matthey spokesperson told specialised website in-pharmatechnologist.com that the company’s decision to restructure its narcotic API business following recent changes to UK regulations, which had increased UK competition and led to a fall in prices, had paid off, with both sales and profit at the Fine Chemicals division up in the in the three months to end-December 2013.

According to the spokesperson, the restructuring programme is expected to save the company £5 million in the full year 2013/14.

In an interim management statement released last month Johnson Matthey said that sales at the Fine Chemicals division increased seven percent year-on-year to £76 million in the last three months of 2013 and operating profit was well ahead of the performance in the equivalent period of 2012.

The Fine Chemicals division is a global supplier of APIs, fine chemicals and other chemical products and services. Johnson Matthey’s US based Pharmaceutical Materials and Services business specialises in the manufacture of APIs for controlled drugs and for platinum-based anti-cancer treatments.

Analysts on Johnson Matthey

Shares in Johnson Matthey have an average rating of “hold” and a consensus price target of 3,229.07p from a total of 17 equity analysts. Nine analysts have rated the stock as a “sell”, seven have issued a “buy” rating and one has assigned a “sell” rating.

Most recently, analysts at Goldman Sachs yesterday reaffirmed their “neutral” rating on the shares. They have a 3,600p price target on the stock.

As of 14:17 UTC buy Johnson Matthey shares at 3,220p

As of 14:17 UTC sell Johnson Matthey shares at 3,218p