Half year volumes grow for DS Smith
International packaging group DS Smith saw revenue and pre-tax profit fall in the half year to the end of October.
The group, which has sites in Oldbury and Willenhall, said that there had been volume growth of 3.1 per cent for the six months and return on sales was ahead 9.4 per cent.
Revenue slipped one per cent to £1.95 billion with profit down 26 per cent to £91m.
DS Smith said its acquisitions were performing well and there had been a very positive customer reaction to itsv enlarged European presence.
Chief executive of the London-headquartered group, Miles Roberts, said: "We are pleased with performance in the first half of this financial year. We have continued to grow volumes in excess of the market and GDP, with our value-added offering again driving progress in margins and returns.
"In addition to the strong organic profit performance, we have been very active in delivering on our portfolio improvement strategy over the period, with three acquisitions completed. These businesses are integrating well with synergies ahead of our initial expectations and we are seeing a step-up in their volume performance, driven by the positive reaction to our broad customer offering. The agreement to acquire a specialist producer of high quality corrugated packaging and display in Turkey is another good step in this strategy."
