Jefferies sees European chemicals' earnings below consensus, downgrades Symrise and Brenntag
16/06/2025 09:19
** Jefferies sees the majority of its European chemicals coverage to require an above average 2H earnings contribution to reach forecasts
** Brokerage notes that portfolio change continues to be the one constant across the sector while U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA agenda(Make America Healthy Again) gives re-rate potential for more food/health exposed companies
** Jefferies prefers exposure to consumer chemicals while it says diversified chemicals remain challenging given earnings delta relative to consensus
** It upgrades Syensqo and Umicore to "buy" from "hold", citing that it prefers businesses with relative pricing power in the current deflationary/weak demand environment
** Jefferies cuts Symrise and Brenntag to "underperform" from "hold" on ongoing volume and margin overhang and a risk of weaker topline growth respectively
** Symrise is seen down 2.71%, Brenntag down 1.27%, Brenntag down 1.27%, Umicore is up 4.8% and Syensqo up 2.3%
| COMPANY | RATING | OLD RATING |
|---|---|---|
| Umicore UMI.BR | Buy | Hold |
| Syensqo SYENS.BR | Buy | Hold |
| Treatt TET.L | Buy | Buy |
| Clariant CLN.S | Hold | Buy |
| Arkema AKE.PA | Hold | Buy |
| Symrise SY1G.DE | Underperform | Hold |
| Brenntag BNRGn.DE | Underperform | Hold |