Essentra

ESNT.L

Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials

Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Good

Valuation

Good

Dividends

Weak

Track this stock — start free trial

Winston Score History

The full picture

Essentra plc is a UK-based manufacturer of small but essential industrial components. It makes things like plastic caps, plugs, cable management parts, and protective fittings that go into machinery, electronics, and other manufactured goods. Its customers are mostly industrial manufacturers across many different sectors who need these kinds of fastening and protection parts in large volumes.

Essentra earns money by selling these components directly to businesses, typically in bulk orders. It operates globally, with a significant presence in Europe, North America, and Asia, and its main competitive advantage is its very wide catalog of standard parts combined with fast delivery — making it convenient for buyers who need many different small components from one supplier. The company has been simplifying its business in recent years after selling off other divisions, and the key challenge going forward is improving its thin operating margins in an environment where raw material costs and competition from lower-cost manufacturers remain ongoing pressures.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+9.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

>+1,000% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

Insider Activity

10.1%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£44M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Essentra is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

46.7%

Healthy — 46.7% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

8.0%

Modest — 8.0% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

6.2%

Weak — 6.2% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+7.0%

Slow sales growth (+7.0% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-41.4%

Earnings shrinking (-41.4% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

320%

Turns 320% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

2.2%

Thin free cash flow (2.2%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.45

Conservative — low debt load (0.45)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

2.31x

Tight — interest eats into profit (2.3x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

55.6x

no trend

Expensive — P/E 55.6

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+39.5

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (55.6 → 16.1)

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.57%

no trend

Small dividend — 1.57% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

-86.9%

no trend

Dividend cut (-86.9% YoY) — warning sign

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial