Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey plc (LSE: JMAT) is a British chemical company which has its headquarters near Holborn in central London. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

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History

Johnson Matthey traces its origins to 1817, when Percival Norton Johnson set up business as a gold assayer in London. In 1851 George Matthey joined the business and its name was changed to Johnson & Matthey. The following year the firm was appointed Official Assayer & Refiner to the Bank of England.

Johnson Matthey Bankers

In the 1960s, Johnson Matthey formed a subsidiary Johnson Matthey Bankers, which took its seat in the London Gold Fixing.

In the early 1980s the bank expanded its activities outside the bullion business, and by making high-risk loans provided over half of the parent company's profits in 1983. The quality of some of these loans turned out to be worse than expected, and the size of them exceeded the capital of the bank. To prevent a wider banking crisis, the Bank of England organised a rescue package in the evening of 30 September 1984, including purchasing JMB for £1.

Current operations

The company's head office is located in Hatton Garden, Central London. The principal operating facility in the UK is located at Royston in Hertfordshire, with other facilities at Brimsdown in Enfield, North London and Clitheroe in Lancashire. The company's UK Technology Centre is based at Sonning Common in Oxfordshire.
In the US its principal site is located at West Deptford, New Jersey.

The company now has four divisions:

• Catalysts manufactures catalysts and catalytic converters for the automobile sector and others.
• Precious Metals refines and distributes platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, gold and silver. Johnson Matthey is the world leader in platinum distribution and the sole marketing agent for Anglo Platinum, the world’s largest producer of platinum.
• Colours & Coatings produces products for the glass and ceramics industries.
• Pharmaceutical Materials produces active pharmaceutical ingredients for sale to pharmaceutical companies.

Johnson Matthey operates globally. Turnover for the year to 31 March was £4.639 billion. Profit before tax was £131 million and net profit was £88.2 million.

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