DS Smith – half year report

DS Smith has released its results for the Six months to 31st October 2019. They recorded sales of £3,188m, which is up 4% on the same period last year. An operating profit of £351m was 15% higher than last year and profit before tax was £213m, 31% up on last year.

The company suggested the integration of Europac has gone very well and the performance of its operation in the US, by way of Interstate, is on target, especially now that the Indiana greenfield site is fully operational.

“Our leadership in e-commerce and sustainable packaging solutions has enabled us to perform well despite a difficult macro environment and volatility in paper pricing,” said Miles Roberts, Group Chief Executive. “The continued growth in margin and strong pricing discipline has been particularly pleasing as we deepen our relationships with FMCG customers and grow market share.”

He concluded, “We continue to capitalise on the strong long-term growth drivers of fibre-based packaging, with our industry-leading innovation driving differentiation in the market. Assuming current macro-economic conditions prevail, we anticipate an acceleration of volume growth in the second half of the year which, together with the resilience of our business model, supports our expectation of further growth in the year.”

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