London, July 5, 2026, 19:04 (BST)
- Johnson Matthey said China has approved the sale of Catalyst Technologies to Honeywell, which means all conditions are now met for the deal to close by the end of August.
- Stock closed at 2,014p on Friday, a gain of 4.95%. The company had a £3.385 billion market cap on the LSE.
- The £1 billion payout to shareholders is about 29.5% of the company’s market cap as of Friday, which is high for a stock that’s still off 5.5% so far this year.
Johnson Matthey Plc LON:JMAT starts the week with one less worry over its pending deal, but the share price still shows some caution. On Friday, the chemicals company said China’s State Administration for Market Regulation approved Honeywell International Inc.’s NASDAQ:HON buyout of Catalyst Technologies. With that, Johnson Matthey said all closing conditions are now satisfied. The deal is set to finish by the end of August.
The shares gained 95p, or 4.95%, on Friday to finish at 2,014p. The FTSE 250 was up 0.52%. The move lifted LSE equity value by about £160 million, putting the market cap at £3.385 billion at Friday’s close. London markets were closed Sunday.
The key figure for investors is the cash return. Johnson Matthey plans to hand back roughly £1 billion in net proceeds after selling Catalyst Technologies—split between an £800 million special dividend with consolidation of shares, plus a £200 million share buyback in the market. That’s about 29.5% of the company’s market cap as of Friday.
| Johnson Matthey trading scorecard | Latest figure | Read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Friday close | 2,014p | Back above 2,000p after clearance from China |
| One-day move | +4.95% | Topped the FTSE 250’s +0.52% |
| One-week move | +1.72% | Up 0.09 percentage point against FTSE 350 |
| Year-to-date move | -5.53% | Trailing FTSE 350 by 12.74 points |
| Market value | £3.385 bln | Cash payout is about 29.5% of value |
| 50-day average | £20.85 | Friday’s finish still off by 3.4% |
| 200-day average | £20.96 | Friday close remains 3.9% under |
Friday’s move wasn’t enough to pull the year out of the red. Johnson Matthey still sits at the bottom of the LSE Group’s diversified chemicals list for the year so far, even after shares bounced on the China approval news.
| Diversified chemicals peer set | YTD price change |
|---|---|
| Synthomer Plc (LON:SYNT) | up 39.0% |
| Croda International Plc (LON:CRDA) | up 13.0% |
| Zotefoams Plc (LON:ZTF) | up 12.9% |
| Peer group average | up 11.1% |
| Elementis Plc (LON:ELM) | down 3.7% |
| Johnson Matthey Plc LON:JMAT | down 5.5% |
Johnson Matthey slashed the sale price of Catalyst Technologies by 26% to £1.325 billion in February, after the business posted weaker profit. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) analysts said the new price was “not an optimal outcome” but still preferable to Honeywell dropping the deal. Reuters
CEO Liam Condon told analysts in May that China was the last approval left. “There are no more questions,” he said at the time, and said the company was “very confident” about both the timeline and the £1 billion return. The RNS on Friday pushed that from a regulatory status update to a near-term trading concern.
There’s cash coming back to shareholders, but Johnson Matthey still has some issues to solve. The company posted free cash flow from continuing operations of £168 million for the year ended March 31, an increase from £64 million. Pro forma underlying operating profit climbed 6% at constant precious metal prices and currency. Clean Air margin improved to 14.5%. PGM Services took a hit, though, with a £48 million operational metal loss at the U.S. refinery.
Johnson Matthey is putting money into Cormetech, the U.S. emissions catalyst firm it agreed to purchase for $360 million. In May, Reuters reported Condon told analysts that “Nobody has a competitive offering like Cormetech for primary emission control in data centres.” The deal is expected to boost earnings from fiscal 2027. Reuters
So next week, traders will be watching less for the Honeywell deal itself and more for how much of that £1 billion return finds its way into the shares ahead of completion. The stock trades under its 50-day and 200-day averages. LSE figures show a five-year drop of 35.5%, while the FTSE 350 is up 44.3% in that time.
Johnson Matthey’s next scheduled event is its annual general meeting on July 16. The company has put forward a 55p final dividend, making the total ordinary payout for the year 77p. If shareholders give the go-ahead, the payment is set for Aug. 4.
