Shares in Johnson Matthey were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the chemical company reported a rise in revenue and pre-tax profit in the year ended 31 March.

Revenue jumped 27 per cent to just under £10 billion in the period, while pre-tax profit increased 14 per cent to £260.6 million. On an underlying basis pre-tax profit was up 36 per cent to £345.5 million.

Johnson Matthey reported double digit sales growth across all of its divisions, with its Environmental Technologies and Emission Control Technologies divisions growing sales by a quarter.

The group said that it would be raising its full year dividend 18 per cent to 46.0 pence per share.

Neil Carson, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey, said, "Johnson Matthey performed strongly in 2010/11 with good growth in its major markets. All of the group's businesses performed well resulting in underlying earnings per share in the year up 38%, marking a return to strong growth for the group.

"Johnson Matthey is expected to make further good progress in 2011/12.

"The drivers that will provide superior earnings growth for the group in our existing markets remain strong. We are increasing our investment in research and development in order to target new areas of future growth for our business. We are confident that the combination of our existing strengths and the investments that we are making now will position the group well for longer term growth."

FTSE