Paper and plastic packaging company DS Smith has reported a 4% increase in UK revenues as part of its half-year results released today (December 06).
DS Smith said its UK revenue had jumped to £577 million in the second half of the 2018/19 financial year, while operating profit has increased 7% to £59 million, compared with the same period in 2017.
DS Smith has posted its half year 2018/19 financial results
The company explained that this was partly due to the “good recovery of paper prices, continued success with Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and a leading recycling operation”.
Group
Across the DS Smith group, which operates across Europe and the US, the company reported that half-year revenues increased by 15% to £3.073 billion, “reflecting acquisitions (£247 million), sales price growth and volume”, the company said.
“Good volumes in packaging contributed £48 million to revenue in the period, with some negative volume (£26 million) principally due to China-related sales of recyclate. On a constant currency basis, revenue also increased by 16%,” the half-year results said.
Momentum
Commenting on the “positive” results, Miles Roberts, the group’s chief executive, said the company has made strong momentum so far this financial year.
Miles Roberts of DS Smith said the results were positive for the company (picture: DS Smith)
“We are very pleased with the progress we have made over the last six months. We have strong momentum in the market, delivering good top line growth and substantially increased profit levels,” he explained.
Mr Roberts added: “We continue to win market share through our strong FMCG presence and our leadership in both e-commerce and sustainable packaging. DS Smith is extremely well positioned to capitalise on these ongoing growth trends and we are confident about the future prospects for the business.”
Europac
The results made reference to DS Smith’s acquisition of Europac, a leading western European integrated packaging business, which it announced in June (see letsrecycle.com story).
The results said the acquisition is expected to be completed in the coming month, explaining that this has been partially funded by the raising of £1 billion in June.
The Europac Group describes itself as company with operations in all areas of the packaging paper and cardboard industry, from integrated waste management and forestry operation as a source of the necessary raw materials for manufacturing recycled and kraftliner papers at its mills in Spain, France and Portugal.
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