Page 6 - Packaging News Mar-Apr 2020
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   6 NEWS |
www.packagingnews.com.au | March-April 2020
  TOP CLICKS
1HMPS OWNER MARK EMMETT BUYS PROPAC INDUSTRIAL
Owner and MD of HMPS Mark Emmett has bought
Sydney original equipment manufacturer Propac Industrial. (See story opposite)
2CONTAINERBOARD FACES CRISIS AS BUSHFIRES BURN TREES
This summer’s bushfires wreaked havoc for kraftliner
producers, hitting plantation forests around the Visy mill in Tumut, leaving unparalleled destruction. (See story p10)
3PACT GROUP PROFITS UP ON SALES SLIP
Pact Group’s results for the first half of FY 2020 showed higher profits, but a
slip in sales from decreased contract packaging work.
4NESTLE’S $3BN BOOST TO PLASTIC PACKAGING REDUCTION
Nestlé said it would invest $3bn to shift from virgin
plastic to food-grade recycled plastics. The move was hailed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Planet Ark.
5VISY VERSUS PRIVATE EQUITY IN OI AUCTION Visy is competing with two private equity firms in the battle for OI’s ANZ
assets as the bidding enters its final round.
6ACCC GREENLIGHTS SALE OF ORORA FIBRE
The watchdog has no beef with Orora’s sale of its Australasian fibre business
to Nippon Paper subsidiary Australian Paper. (See story p7)
Mixed bag for industry heavyweights
 TOP STORIES FROM THE PACKAGING NEWS WEBSITE PACKAGINGNEWS.COM.AU
  THE reports are in, and the big end of town’s half-year results were mixed. Some of the big packaging companies are feel- ing the pinch but managing to keep profits up while sales and revenue slip. But there are some upsides for the packaging industry heavyweights.
Orora saw a 13.3 per cent decrease in NPAT, in the half year through December 2019, compared to the prior corre- sponding period, down to $76.6m. The company’s sales revenue was up 13.3 per cent compared with the prior corre- sponding period to $1.8bn.
However, there was a bright spot for Orora in its Australasia operations, with growth in its beverages business. Sales reve- nue for the Australasia opera- tions (comprising the beverage business group with contribu- tions from glass, cans, and clo- sures divisions) was up 2.4 per cent compared with the same period last year to $412.2m. EBIT for Orora Australasia over
RIGHT: Brian Lowe, Orora CEO
ABOVE: Coca-Cola’s Australasian business
saw its first revenue increase since 2012.
the half-year through December was reported to be $82.6m.
Orora’s CEO, Brian Lowe, admitted that the first half of this financial year was “chal- lenging”. He said subdued eco- nomic conditions across the company’s geographies impact- ing earnings.
Coca-Cola Amatil saw reve- nue growth across all its busi- ness segments over 2019. Revenues for its Australian beverage business increased 2.4 per cent. This was the first full- year revenue increase for the division since 2012.
However, the Australian bev- erages division saw a 1.9 per cent decrease in EBIT to $369m, down from $376.1m in 2018. But the beverages division still
accounts for 57.7 per cent of the group’s total EBIT.
Amcor improved its outlook for the 2020 financial year in its first-half results. The company reported an adjusted EBIT of $699m, up 4.4 per cent in con- stant currency terms. It is con- tinuing to integrate US flexible packaging outfit Bemis, which has delivered about $30m in pre-tax synergy benefits.
Pact Group saw its profits nudge upwards in the first half of FY 2020 on the back of stron- ger offshore margins, as sales slipped from decreased con- tract packaging work. Pact’s revenue was $886m for the period, a three per cent decline on the same period last year.
However, the company’s NPAT before significant items was $37m, up four per cent compared with $36m in the prior corresponding period.
Pact Group said the improved margins were delivered through “the improved recov- ery of prior period pricing lags along with strong cost control and overhead management”.
And finally, Visy has put a bid in on O-I’s Australasian business. It is up against two private equity firms. ■
   




























































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