In announcing improving profits, British Polythene Industries (BPI) has warned that it is still struggling to get hold of good quality secondary raw material.
The company said that its profits before tax for the six months ending 30 June 2013 were up 17 per cent to £14.1 million compared to £12.1 million for the same period in 2012.
While sales of agricultural products and its acquisition of Flexfilm Group helped it to achieve higher profit along with good performance in US and Europe, its recycling business in the UK was more difficult.
The company said in its annual results that its new washing plant at Rhymney, which was installed in 2012, has yet to achieve its targeted outputs and some additional equipment delivered in August should ensure this level is achieved in the final quarter.
It added: “New equipment at Heanor to remove paper contamination from distribution transit waste plastic was installed at the end of period. Obtaining good quality waste scrap remains a challenge.”
BPI chairman Cameron McLatchie wrote in his statement in the results: “The improvement in operating profits can be attributed to another excellent performance from our European business, a better performance from North America and a slight improvement from the United Kingdom.
“The UK performance would have been better but for increased energy costs and previously reported issues around commissioning a new washing plant for contaminated waste film. Our UK business also suffered from pressure in margins on certain recycled and retail products.”
