Investing in Johnson Matthey used to be a binary bet on the future of the internal combustion engine.
The chemicals giant, which has its roots in a gold testing business in 1817, earns the bulk of its money making catalysts that help remove impurities from the exhausts of cars, buses and lorries. Its emissions control division contributed more than 60% of sales and profits in its most recent financial year.
Volkswagen’s emissions rigging scandal has changed all that as regulators and governments across the globe rush to ban diesel engines. In Britain the government has gone a step further, pledging to plan to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
The FTSE 100 firm has not been standing idly by as its core market