Solid half year result and expectations for full year earnings growth unchanged (Amcor)
In announcing the result, Amcor’s Managing Director & CEO Mr Ron Delia said: “Amcor has delivered a solid half year result and the full year expectation for growth in profit after tax remains unchanged. Our business remains very well placed for the current global environment and for the long term.
“Growth in PBIT and EPS was 3.5% and 4.6% respectively in constant currency terms. More importantly, the business delivered PBIT growth of 9% and EPS growth of 12% in constant currency terms after adjusting for Venezuela, where we have eliminated our financial exposure.
“The result illustrates the defensiveness and resilience of our unique global packaging business and our strategy. Earnings growth was balanced across the Flexibles and Rigid Plastics segments, and came from both organic sources and recently acquired businesses.
“The half year also demonstrated the benefit of our broad geographic diversification, including having a presence in every major region around the world. Across our diverse footprint, we saw growth in developed markets this period offsetting challenges in some emerging markets.
The local nature of the packaging industry is particularly important amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. Amcor operates more than 200 plants in over 40 countries and is not reliant on either imports or exports.
“Return on funds employed, cash generation and the balance sheet all remained strong, enabling us to continue to invest in the business and to increase the dividend we pay to shareholders.
“We also took important steps against our strategic priorities, moving quickly with clear alignment through the whole business. In the last seven months we invested in the large scale Alusa and Sonoco acquisitions as well as in the Flexibles restructuring initiatives. Relative to the 2016 financial year, these investments will underpin more than US$150 million of PBIT growth over the next three years, in addition to organic growth and further M&A.
“Amcor’s portfolio of businesses service defensive end markets and consistently generate strong cash flows. There are significant growth opportunities available in attractive segments where our businesses are uniquely positioned, and the balance sheet provides the capacity to pursue these opportunities. The outcome of this combination is Amcor’s value proposition for shareholders - the ability to consistently deliver 10 to 15 percent of additional value each year.
Source: https://www.amcor.com/