Questor is The Telegraph’s stock-picking column, helping you decode the markets and offering insights on where to invest.

Any company with a history of growth in its annual dividend that dates back to the late 1990s must have something to it. Throw in a share price that is down by 70pc from its peak and sits no higher than nine years ago and this column’s interest is further piqued.

A turnaround programme designed to rectify a slump in profits and returns on capital is the next building block to the investment case, and then comes a set of first-quarter results to suggest that maybe, just maybe, a depressing run of profit downgrades is ending to complete the set. The company is Croda, a Yorkshire-based…