Johnson Matthey's profit falls on supply chain pressures

(Reuters) - British chemicals maker Johnson Matthey on Wednesday reported a slightly lower half-yearly profit, as supply chain pressures constrained production volumes for the group's automotive customers and as prices of precious metals softened.

The group's underlying operating profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was 222 million pounds ($263.89 million), compared with 297 million pounds the prior year.

($1 = 0.8413 pounds)

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)