Packaging group says plastics acquisitions integrating well
Announcing its interim results, the global packaging group said that it had achieved a 20% increase in sales compared with those from the same period last year. In the first half of 2006, group sales from ongoing operations were £1,811m, while those in 2005 were £1,504m.
However, the underlying profit before tax of £137m was down £4m compared with last year, representing a fall of 3%.
With respects to plastic packaging, Rexam reported sales of £379m with underlying profits of £43m, compared to £250m and £32m in 2005. The return on sales was down from 12.8% to 11.3% over the same period. The company highlighted the strong performance of its pharmaceutical and high barrier food business, adding that its beauty packaging operations had been affected by delays in the launch of new products.
Rexam said that its acquisitions in plastic packaging are being “integrated rapidly” into its existing operations. These include a pharmaceutical packaging operation in India (see PRW.com 21 August 2006).
Rexam’s chairman Rolf Börjesson said: “Despite the challenging cost climate our industry is facing, trading remains in line with our expectations and we expect to make progress in the second half.”
