We tipped speciality chemicals business Itaconix (ITX) 18 months ago (62.5p, 3 Sep 2015) in its former guise, Revolymer, encouraged in part by noted fund manager Neil Woodford upping his holding. "It should be emphasised upfront that Revolymer is a highly speculative stock," we wrote at the time. Unfortunately the shares have displayed some of the more negative connotations connected with the "speculative" label.
Revolymer since bought polymer-focused peer Itaconix (adopting its name earlier this month), which allowed it to broaden its applications in the personal care and home cleaning markets, and divested its nicotine gum business. The latter was lower margin, but was at least bringing in revenue. The company was punished for its strategic realignment in 2016, with its shares down 60 per cent.
