This year’s acquisition of SCA Packaging by DS Smith has helped boost its performance, according to half yearly results.
DS Smith has faced weakness in its paper market, but the purchase of SCA Packaging enabled DS Smith to report sales up two-thirds to £1.7 billion in the first half to 31 October, with pre-tax profits rising from £60.8 million last year in the same period to £88.9 million this year.
In its results document, the company noted: “Over the period we have faced challenging market conditions, particularly in paper where both pricing and volumes have been under pressure as a result of weak demand and continuing over-capacity in the European paper sector.
“Long-term we are evaluating our options to reduce the impact that this cyclicality has upon our business with a view to further improving the overall return on capital. Our corrugated and plastic packaging businesses have delivered strong performances and continue to demonstrate the relative resilience of these markets, with our strong focus on the FMCG sector.”
